Dragon Knights Sentai
by Vuirneen
Summary: Story Complete. Modern day AU: If Dragon Knights was a TV series, this is how it would have come together. Lykouleon's the producer, Cernozura's writing the scripts and Alfeegi's having a nervous breakdown.
1. Prologue: The Big Idea

This is the prologue for a thirteen chapter series. It was supposed to be much shorter, but grew in the writing - turned into the intro scene for the main characters. I was worried that it'd only stretch to two or three hundred words. Of course, the first sentence was to be: "I want to do a sentai show" and then, starting a great tradition, Lykouleon was late, so it had to be put in later.

This series was inspired by a moment in _My-Hime_ when the red-head shouted "Hime sentai!". I just thought, sentai shows are cool. Dragon Knights. Dragon Knights the sentai show. It's perfect! There's also a series that I can't remember the name of that owes a lot to the general plot.

The official pairings are Ruwalk/Cernozura, Lykouleon/Raseleane and Rune/Tintlett. There are some yaoi references, but no shonen ai. twitch

Thanks Suaru-chan for reading this for me.

**Prologue**

* * *

oOo

The severe-looking matron patted her hair and shuffled her feet in the dusky boardroom. One of the others coughed and she joined in twice. There was no small talk; no-one seemed to know anyone else and they simply waited in the dark, each one staring into space.

The room held an odd collection of people. The matron could have fronted a knitting programme. The white-haired man sitting across from her looked like he was fresh from an action flick with his open shirt and slight tan and the scowling, nervous man beside him could have been doing costumes at a big-budget musical. The long-haired gentleman beside her nodded away as music blared out through his headphones and the last one at the glass table resembled an accountant, although his serious suit was completely spoiled by the open-toed sandals he wore.

The uncomfortable silence was eventually broken by the nervous man. "How long is Lykouleon going to keep us waiting? I bet he's forgotten that he's even invited us here."

The music-lover smiled, slipped his headphones off his ears and said "Sorry?"

The nervous man drummed his fingers against the table and said "Maybe if you weren't playing music so loud that we could make out the words this far away, you'd be able to understand what people who are here to discuss work with you are saying."

The smile faded as the long-haired music fan leant forward. "Listen, Twitch..."

"Twitch?" yelled Twitch. "Don't call me that! My name is Alfeegi."

"I'm Ruwalk. Pleased to meet you," said the music-lover, as he reached over and shook the stunned Alfeegi's hand.

"Call me Kai-Stern," said the action hero, standing up and joining in.

"Tetheus," muttered the accountant, waving from his seat.

"Cernozura," said the matron with a smile. She took the handshakes she was offered. "I'm a script-writer..."

"So you must know something about the show Lykouleon wants us to work on," Alfeegi said, seizing on her words.

Cernozura shook her head. "I'm completely in the dark. I was told that this meeting was where we'd hash out the ideas."

With a rueful sigh, Action Kai-Stern leant back in his seat. "If there's not even a basic premise then we're a long way from filming."

Ruwalk nodded, then turned to the matronly Cernozura. "Still, if you're the script-writer, then it should be similar to the shows you've worked on before. What's your background?"

Cernozura shifted in her seat as the four attractive men turned their full attention on her. Even Twitch leaned forward and she coughed again. "Well, the other shows I worked on had a mainly female crew. I mostly write romantic dramas like _Sweet Schoolgirls In Love_, _Under My Silken Lips I Wait For You_ and um, _Lonely High School_."

Twitch twitched, Tetheus looked away, the music man sighed and fiddled with his mp3 player, but Kai-Stern perked up. "I loved _Lonely High School_," he gushed. "I didn't catch _Sweet Schoolgirls in Love_, but I've heard good things about it. So you wrote for those shows, eh?" He clapped his hands loudly and then rubbed them together. "Should be a nice change of pace for me, anyway. It's always good to try new things."

Alfeegi snorted. "You mean that you're hoping to meet and educate the school girls who'll be starring in the show."

Ruwalk paused while re-fitting his earphones as Kai-Stern demurred. "Of course not." His eyes clouded over and a sappy grin spread across his face. "I just adore stories about innocent love and the coming-of-age tales of teenagers."

"What shows have you worked on then?" asked Ruwalk.

"Ah," smiled Kai-Stern. "I've a wide portfolio: _Yaoi Takes A Bow_, which is a documentary, the second _Gravitation_ DVD series, _Kyo Kara Maoh_ and _Mr. Smith Goes To Washington_."

"I don't remember that being about gay love," mumbled Tetheus.

"Our version is still in post production," said Kai-Stern. "It should be ready for next year's _Sundance_ festival, though."

The conversation ended there and everyone smiled and grimaced at each other, while wondering if a new and agreeable topic could be found.

"Does anyone know if Lykouleon's going to try and shove his son into this production as well?" asked Cernozura, suddenly sitting forward. "He's been in everything Lykouleon's produced since he was old enough to sit still."

"What?" exclaimed Alfeegi and Ruwalk together. Tetheus shrugged and Kai-Stern bit his lip while staring off into space.

"That's not true," he said. "Rath has been in a lot of his shows as an extra, but he's definitely not appeared in any of the porn films."

"Even so," said Cernozura. "Fifteen is around the age that a lot of idols make their first bid for fame." She flopped back into her chair "I hate writing for sticky boys - it's all action and very little romance."

"How do you know so much about Lykouleon's son?" asked Tetheus mildly, still looking at Kai-stern. Ruwalk and Alfeegi swivelled in unison: Ruwalk's mouth twitching at the corners and Alfeegi shooting accusing glares at the action-star.

"Hey, HEY!" he shouted, standing up. "Just because I'm close to a young boy doesn't mean that it's sexual. Rath is my godson - of course I know about him."

He lost the accusing glares, but the looks he got remained dubious.

"What's this show going to be like?"

"IT'LL BE GREAT!"

The room turned to see a smiling man in a crisp, white suit, framed in the doorway.

"How long have you been standing there, Lykouleon?" asked Tetheus, rising and bowing.

Lykouleon didn't answer, instead walking around the table to greet everyone individually. "How are you Cernozura? Glad you're on board, Ruwalk. How's the golf-swing Kai-Stern? Looking lovely as ever, Alfeegi. Tetheus! I'm delighted you came." When he'd completed his circuit, he sat in the big tub chair at the head of the table and swivelled from side to side. "I've got a great idea. I saw an episode of the new CLAMP show: _Magic Knight Rayearth _and I thought that it was brilliant, so we're going to do our own sentai show!"

He waited for the brilliance of his idea to sink in.

"You mean a group of teenage warriors of justice, with each one given a different colour or something to mark them out from the rest? Like the Power Rangers, or... " asked Ruwalk.

"Exactly. We'll have five guys, all of them affiliated to one of five elements, fire, water, earth, wind and light and each of them will have a dragon of these elements, so we'll be able to show them in ordinary mode, with no special effect cost and then in full dragon-riding mode."

"Sir, light isn't an element." pointed out Tetheus. "The usual fifth element is metal, or wood and why choose wind, instead of air?"

"No, light is perfect - he'll be the leader you see," Lykouleon said with a smile. Everyone around the table nodded automatically. "Great! Rath's very excited about this!"

"Rath?" queried Ruwalk, holding his hand over his mouth.

"Yes," chirped Lykouleon. "He's taken all sorts of acting lessons and his latest tutor says that he can't teach him anymore, so I reckon that it's time for him to get some practical experience."

Tetheus moved his chair closer and muttered, "his tutor can't teach him any more, or his tutor can't teach him, anymore?"

The proud father swung back and forth in his chair, ignoring Tetheus totally.

"Anyway," the smiling man said. "I suppose that I should hand out the jobs first. Cernozura, you're on script duty."

"S-sir," stuttered Cernozura. "I don't have any experience with sentai shows. I write girlish romance stories, not action serials."

"What I need," said Lykouleon, reaching over and placing a warm hand on her shaking ones, "is a show with heart. You can give me that heart. Oh, there'll be action and hi-jinks and special effects, true - but we'll also deal with teenagers, going through a troubled part of their lives. Why, I've a great back-story for the Light Leader." He suddenly frowned. "Light Leader sounds a bit corny."

"Well," stated Tetheus, "they have dragons, maybe the titles could be based on that?"

"Dragon Warriors?" offered Alfeegi.

"No." Kai-Stern shook his head. "There's a computer game called _Dragon Warriors_ and there's bound to be a production based on it. How about Dragon Fighters?"

"Dragon Wielders?"

"Dragon Riders?"

"Dragon Riders!" shouted Lykouleon. "With saddles and lances. I can see the concept art now."

"Lances?" said Cernozura, taking down frantic notes. She underlined _Dragon Riders_, like knights, you mean?"

"Dragon Knights? Even better," squealed Lykouleon. "We can give the individual knights titles like: Fire Dragon Knight, or Water Dragon Knight. The linguistics work out much better than Fire Dragon Rider."

"Still, sir. I'm not comfortable working on this series," Cernozura reiterated her concerns, but Lykouleon brushed them aside.

"I'm an Executive Producer with experience, my dear. You have oodles of talent and it's time we developed that in a new field. You'll be fine, don't worry. Half the screen time will be **loud explosion**, you won't have to churn out dialogue."

"I like dialogue," mumbled Cernozura, but the Producer had moved on.

"Ruwalk, costumes and props. We've finally found a vehicle where your taste for lamé and lycra will be rewarded. Thinking about it now, that wasn't the best look for a period film, but it was my call and I'm sorry that you took so much flak for it."

Ruwalk smiled and opened his mouth, when he realised that Lykouleon was already complimenting Kai-Stern on his tan.

"Kai, baby! How's the wife feel about lending your good self to me again?"

Kai-Stern smiled. "Oh, Kimiko's gone. We fell out over the summer vacation. I'm dating twins at the moment, but they haven't moved in yet."

"You must have them over for tea. Rath would love to see you again."

"Of course, of course. Should I bring one or both of them?"

"Your choice, my boy. Now, I can count on you for sets and locations?"

Kai-Stern nodded. "I've done a bit of travelling recently and I've some interesting sites that I've been saving for you."

"Excellent. There's quite a few, unique and challenging locations that I have in mind. Some mountains, a hot spring, the usual, but also a volcano."

"Volcano?"

"Active if it's at all possible."

Cernozura underlined _volcano_.

"'Feegi," Lykouleon said.

Alfeegi was shaking like a kid in a candy store. His face had turned red and he looked like he was about to have his one true moment of bliss.

"You're my production manager."

The redness intensified and several facial tics manifested.

"No!" he screamed, jumping to his feet. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You promised! You said that I'd never have to do that again! You promised that I could be the director next time, that I'd have a show just for me, my show! My show!"

"I've done better than that!" Lykouleon said, when he'd run out of steam.

"How!" snarled Alfeegi.

"The production manager spends most of their time with the director and I've hired one of the best in the business to show you the ropes."

He gestured to Tetheus, who waved. Alfeegi's colour faded and he flopped back down.

"Oh, you're that Tetheus?" Ruwalk said, looking eagerly at the accountant. "I hadn't realised - it's such a common name."

Tetheus shrugged his shoulders. "I'm often mistaken for other Tetheus's," he said. "My accountant has the same name and I've been forced into a few meetings, before I managed to explain that I know nothing about balance sheets and whatnot." He lifted a china cup and sipped delicately from it. Ruwalk glanced around. Tetheus was the only one enjoying a beverage. "Mmmm. It allows me to explore another side of life - the mundane one, which can be quite hard for us creatives to capture adequately," he continued, straightening his serious tie. His toes flexed in their open sandals.

Lykouleon startled them all with a clap. "Well, now that's out of the way, I want to check that everyone's free tomorrow for casting."

"CASTING?"

"But we - but we, don't even have a script," wailed Cernozura.

"Or a plot!" screamed Alfeegi.

"Or a detailed cast," exclaimed Ruwalk.

"Or crew," added Kai-Stern.

"Or contracts," stated Tetheus.

Lykouleon brushed their complaints aside. "I'm so excited about this project. Isn't it better to know and to visualise our actors before we write the scripts? We can tune the characters directly into their personalities. It's a great idea."

"But what'll they read at the casting call?" asked Kai-Stern. "We have to see how good their acting is."

"Oh, talk to them, ask them for a party piece - every actor has one. This way, they'll all give their best performance and they'll be acting something that they're comfortable with. Or do improv with them or something. We'll work it all out tomorrow."

"TOMORROW?"

"Bright and early, I'll see you there," he said, sweeping out of the room and leaving devastation behind.

* * *

oOo

I didn't expect Cernozura to be matronly. I meant kinda... prim, but I don't know what image you came up with in your head. I was trying for the equivalent of her repressed Victorian style. Maybe "dowdy" would have been a better word choice. I did get a bit paranoid at one point that she was turning into an author avatar, probably because she's a writer - I'm hoping for a fairly strict third person point of view, although there is a bit of a Cernozura bias here.


	2. Auditions

Welcome to chapter two. This is the third draft and it needs a further edit, but I've been lazy with the rest of the series and I need to kick myself up the arse, so I'm posting it as is. This is the longest chapter in the series. Most of the other ones are about the same length as the prologue.

There aren't any warnings for this chapter, so slip right in.

* * *

oOo

Alfeegi was the last to arrive, with sunken eyes and dark circles betraying his frantic effort of the previous night. Everyone from the meeting - except for Lykouleon - was lurking outside the _ClusterHall Studio_, watching Kai-Stern smoke. They casually eyed the strangers that walked past them, wondering if they were auditioning for their series, or someone else's.

"Thanks, Alfeegi," said Ruwalk, to general murmurs of agreement from the others. "I can't believe that you got a venue for us on such short notice."

He grunted, slinking up to the group with his hands in his pockets. "I couldn't get through to every agent and one of them cursed me out of it, but there's a chance that we'll be able to fill the principal roles today." He sighed, relaxing his shoulders and looking tired. "We can hold auditions again later on for minor characters. As long as we fill the five Knight slots today, I'll be happy."

Kai-Stern stubbed out his cigarette and dropped it into a bin, while Tetheus held the door for everyone. He smiled at Cernozura who insisted on taking over from him. Once they'd all filed inside, Alfeegi approached the receptionist and had a brief discussion. He checked the written documentation that she offered him then nodded and smiled.

Turning to the group, he gestured to an unmarked door and led the others through the lobby and down a steep path. Their studio, Studio F, was out of the way, but no-one griped. Despite the distance to their audition room, they started tripping over anxious people clutching portfolios before they'd turned the final corner. Squeezing through the crowd, Alfeegi nodded to a hassled and sleepy-looking kid guarding the door to their studio.

As soon as they walked in the door they broke out in smiles.

"It's amazing. Just a whisper of an audition drags actors out of the woodwork," gloated Ruwalk. "This'll be easy."

"Never say that," murmured Tetheus, pulling a gadget out of his pocket and checking the lighting levels. "It's a good start, at least, but people that manage to attend auditions at short notice obviously don't have any work."

"That means that they'll be available for shooting," argued Alfeegi.

"Or that they're no good," muttered Cernozura, gloomily.

She surveyed the room; a warm space, slightly cramped with five people, a generous camera and a collapsible table set up on one side. She slumped into one of the chairs behind it while Kai-Stern wandered over and fiddled with the camera. A TV screen set onto the wall flashed into life with an image of Alfeegi.

"Hey, Alfeegi," called Kai-Stern. "Say something for the camera."

Alfeegi pouted and posed with a hand on his hip. "Hi there," he purred. "I'm Alfeegi and... Hey! Are you recording this?"

He stamped up to Kai-Stern, the television revealing a smirking Ruwalk as Alfeegi moved from frame.

Tetheus joined Cernozura at the table, lifted up his briefcase and snapped it open. She took a swift peek at what was inside, but couldn't see much except for sheets of white paper. Tetheus grabbed a handful and handed them out to Cernozura and the empty chairs, along with two pens.

"We'll need these," he said, locking up the briefcase and stowing it under his chair. "Alfeegi," he said, looking up at the television screen. "Can you go back to where you were before?"

Alfeegi complied uncertainly. "Now what?"

"Take a step back," Tetheus ordered, his eyes firmly on the TV. "Now shuffle left... stop! Someone lock the camera."

He then rose from his seat and walked over to Alfeegi. "This position gives the best frame on the monitor." He bent down and marked the floor by Alfeegi's feet with chalk. "If someone could tape this spot, then it'll be easier to direct the auditions."

Just then, the hassled kid walked in.

"Thanks for helping me out at such short notice, Ringleys," Alfeegi said.

"You do pay well, Alfeegi, so that's okay," answered the boy. "We've had thirty people show up so far and they're all pumping me for information. How long do you want me to keep registering them?"

"We'll see whoever turns up - that's the plan so far," answered Alfeegi. "I'll tell you if it changes later on."

"Okay," said Ringleys, handing over a sheet of paper. "Here's the list of the first ten applicants. Most of them have photos. When do you want them to start coming in?"

"Give us ten minutes to get settled and work out our game plan, then send them in," replied Alfeegi. "You can tell people that we're casting for a sentai show and that we're looking at actors for all parts."

Ringleys nodded and walked back to the door when Tetheus stopped him.

"Ringleys," he said. "Can you stand over there?"

Puzzled, Ringleys wandered over to the spot where Alfeegi had been standing and which now had an "X" marked out on it in gaffa tape.

"Say your name to the camera," Tetheus ordered him.

"I'm Ringleys," said the lad, peering at the camera. Kai-Stern waved to him from behind it.

"Now look left for a moment... now right... okay that's it. Thank you," finished Tetheus, making notes on the paper in front of him.

"Okay," said Ringleys, returning to the door. He snuck a sideways glance at Tetheus, who remained impassive, then left.

"So what do we actually do now?" asked Cernozura.

"Your first casting?" asked Ruwalk, taking the seat on her other side. She nodded. "It's simple. We film everyone, get profiles, talk to them, make notes on the people we like, gossip about them when they leave. Then tomorrow, we review the recordings and pick our cast."

"That's a lot of tape to go through," she gasped.

"Oh it's all digital now," remarked Kai-Stern, adjusting the focus minutely. "And we don't bother to look at half the screen-tests."

"We might not go through even a quarter of them," muttered Tetheus, who was looking at the list of names Ringleys had given them.

A knock on the door was followed by the first hopeful and the casting swung into action. The format was very simple, so they switched the main interviewer with each new person. Cernozura even took her turn and found herself enjoying it more each time. She kept notes as she went, matching candidates with potential roles: guard, skivvy, peasant, noble, pirate, etc., but hadn't spotted any leads. Kai-Stern had a simple system: he rated everyone on how attractive they were. Ruwalk noted down what colours suited everyone. Alfeegi had a camera-love rating - he watched the television throughout the screen-tests and missed several handshakes that were directed at him, due to his focus on the little screen. Tetheus had the most extensive notes, although they all seemed to be in an obscure shorthand: NEC, TMC, HA, TS and NIAMY.

The day sped on and the mound of notes in front of each person grew. There was still no stand-out lead, although Alfeegi and Ruwalk had started to discuss some of the earlier candidates, when it was the turn of a young man, with short, brown hair. He sidled into the room and blushed when he introduced himself.

"My name's Rune," he said softly, handing over a set of prints that Cernozura dispersed to the others with a kind smile.

"Please stand over here," she said when she was done, leading him to the mark on the floor. "And say your name again."

"Rune," he repeated, before adding his address and contact details.

"Now, talk a little about yourself."

Rune grimaced and wavered, before dragging some personal information out of his memory. "I'm sixteen years old. I've gone to acting classes after school instead of sports or grinds, like my friends. It takes up a lot of my time, so I have to be an actor since I won't be able to get into college."

"There are quite a few schools that have acting as part of the course," interrupted Ruwalk. "If you have a good portfolio, that'll count as part of your entry requirements."

Rune smiled and Alfeegi took over. "So have you appeared on anything before?"

"Oh, I was in a few advertisements, although I didn't have any speaking parts," he said, gaining in confidence as the conversation wore on. His shoulders dropped, which was the first hint of how tense he'd been and the longer he talked, the more he had to say. Alfeegi prompted him with queries about his family and his pets. Meanwhile, Tetheus took one of his pens and started drawing on Rune's photo. Rune's brown eyes flicked between the doodling and Alfeegi and he became less certain again, stuttering at several points.

"Well," stated Alfeegi, turning to Tetheus, "Do you have anything to ask Rune?"

Tetheus proudly held up the photo and passed it to Ruwalk. He'd scrawled all over a full body shot, creating an angry halo about Rune's head that stretched down his chest.

"Aha!" exclaimed Ruwalk, getting out of his seat and rummaging through a box on the floor. "Hang on a second... here!" He pulled out a tangled mass of yellow string then manipulated it, holding it at different points. Kai-Stern offered him a hair-brush and Ruwalk brushed and shook it, until it vaguely resembled human hair. "Would you mind trying this on?" he said, presenting it to Rune, who shrugged and submitted.

"Now, we just need the profile shots again," said Tetheus. "Look to your right... and now your left... perfect."

"Contacts?" asked Kai-Stern.

"I think a blue," replied Tetheus. "Rune," he said, addressing the boy again. "I'm the director for this series and the part we're considering you for is one of the leads." Rune gasped. "You would be playing the Water Dragon Knight and it'd be good steady work for thirteen weeks. Anything after that will depend on whether we're given a second series. What do you think?"

"It sounds wonderful," gushed Rune.

"You would have to wear that wig and a set of blue contacts."

"No problem," stated Rune, emphatically.

"Okay, you'll be hearing from us before the end of the week about the call-back. Thank you for your time," said Tetheus, standing to shake his hand.

"Thank you, sir," he said, swallowing hard and grasping firmly to his hand. He left with his mouth wide open and had to be called back to return the wig.

"We've found our first knight," exclaimed Tetheus, leaning back in his chair. "Thank goodness."

"Are you sure?" asked Cernozura. "He's got no experience."

Alfeegi agreed. "Shouldn't we have a panel for such an important part?"

"It's taken half the day to find our first lead," Kai-Stern pointed out. "Should we waste a potential second, by having him compete with Rune for one of the places?"

Everyone slumped down when they realised how little they'd actually accomplished.

"Now we've two," said Ruwalk. "Rath's already cast, so we only have to find another three."

"It's taken half the day to find one!" argued Alfeegi.

"No, we've more time," said Cernozura. "We can give each knight an introductory episode. If the first two episodes focus on Rune and Rath, then that gives us space to find the other Dragon Knights."

They breathed again and Tetheus clapped his hands together.

"Right," he said. "Who's next?"

"Kharl," read Kai-Stern from the list.

"We've got another cast member," said Tetheus, stretching his arms back behind his head and tipping the chair a little.

"Hmm?" quizzed Cernozura.

"Kharl's a good actor," agreed Alfeegi, who stood up and paced the room, "but I don't think that he's right as a knight. He looks young, but he'd never pull it off."

"No," said Tetheus, shaking his head. "He's our bad-guy."

"I don't know him," Cernozura said, looking at the others for some cues.

"Check him out when he comes in," said Tetheus. "I'll need to know what you think."

Ringleys led Kharl in shortly after that. He was a flamboyant man with a booming voice and he walked straight up to Tetheus and kissed him on both cheeks.

"Mwah. Mwah. Tetheus, darling, what can a RADA trained actor of the highest calibre do for you?" he said, pulling Alfeegi's vacant seat out from the table and straddling it.

"We're considering you for the role of our main villain," said Cernozura, leaning forward. "He's a yokai alchemist, who's utterly selfish and self-serving. Kharl the Alchemist is a bit of a sociopath, who views everyone else in terms of the experiments he can carry out on them. Even your minion, who you're very attached to, is an experiment for you."

"An alchemist?" sighed Kharl. "I've already done twenty villains in a row. I don't want to be typecast! I've been in the RSC for years, darling. I've played MacBeth, Hamlet. I was the Head Vogon in the Broadway adaptation of _The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy_! 'Oh freddled gruntbuggly'," he intoned. "Thy micturations are to me..."

"Lykouleon's producing us for thirteen weeks," said Tetheus, baldly. "We start shooting as soon as the cast's picked and finish well before the new Shakespeare production starts up."

"Lykouleon's doing a Shakespearian production?" asked Kharl, his upper lip twitching.

"It'll probably be at short notice, as per usual," said Tetheus, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, yes, Kharl the Alchemist!" Kharl said, waving his hands about and turning away. "I can do it in my sleep. Just give me some good lines and a meaty plot. Hmm, some interest in one of the main characters would be nice," he continued, posing at the door. "I do like those temptation scenes. Something Shakespearian would be nice." He flung the door open and sailed out into the crowd, who were waiting their turn. "Look out!" he shouted, in rumbling tones. "Ack-tor coming through."

"Just to let you know," Tetheus mumbled to Cernozura, "He'll twist the part and make it his own, there's no way to avoid it. But he's very good. We're lucky."

It seemed to fly after that. Knowing that Kharl was on board seemed to have improved the quality of the applicants ten-fold and when Lykouleon finally arrived, seven hours late, he found an ebullient room.

"Sir!" yelled a delighted Alfeegi. "We did it, sir. We found another two Dragon Knights, so we'll be able to film the first episode, which gives us time to fill the other two roles."

"That's great, Alfeegi," beamed the executive producer. "I've been working hard myself." Ruwalk snorted, but Kai-Stern covered for him with a loud coughing display. "There, there, Kai-Stern, anyhow. I had lunch, brunch and dinner with Raseleane and she's interested in our story."

"Raseleane? The singer?" screamed Kai-Stern and Ruwalk together. "I love her stuff. What? Me too!"

Lykouleon swaggered over to a seat that Alfeegi vacated for him. "Yes, she's looking to expand from music into acting and when I explained the concept of the show..."

"What concept?" murmured Cernozura.

"...she almost begged for a part."

"It's a very large scoop to have both Kharl and Raseleane in our show," pondered Tetheus.

"You got Kharl?" gasped Lykouleon, stunned. "Well done."

"We'll need to promote her," said Kai-Stern, stroking his chin. "How's she best used?"

"Villain of the week?" suggested Cernozura. "That way she can come and go as needs be. With her career, she can't commit full-time to a shoot."

Lykouleon shook his head. "The lovely Raseleane as a villain? No, no no. She'll be the Dragon Queen. She's the one who orders the knights off on their mission and appears in soft focus whenever they're disheartened. In fact, she'll need a lot of flouncy dresses and her own make-up person."

"Does she want to sing a song every week?" snarled Alfeegi, with his arms crossed.

"Oh no," bubbled Lykouleon. "Of course not, that'd reek too much of a promotional vehicle, but she will record the opening and closing theme. Do you think that we could get someone hot to write it?"

"I'll see what I can do," sighed Alfeegi, making a note in his PDA.

"Offer them a lot of money," said Lykouleon, poking the poor guy in the side. "I want the songs to sound really good."

"About the knights..." muttered Tetheus.

"Ah!" said Lykouleon, jolting upright. "Yes, about them."

"We've got two," bubbled Kai-Stern. "You'll squee them."

"Squee?" Lykouleon furrowed his brow and looked around to Tetheus. "What does that mean?"

"Sir," said Alfeegi, cutting over their conversation. "One of the guys is good. He's a little young, only sixteen, but the other is perfect. He oozes charisma and has the very essence of..."

"You'll love him, you'll love the look we have for him," interrupted Ruwalk, grabbing a sketchbook from the table and flipping frantically through it. "I have some preliminary drawings done already for his outfit."

"He's certainly inspired me," said Cernozura, jumping in. "He's the hook around which the whole first episode revolves and actually I've this idea for a plot that arcs over the whole series. I want to know what you think of it."

"Before all that, I've something to say," began Lykouleon.

Everyone settled down with big, quirky grins on their faces.

"We've done so well," whispered Ruwalk to Cernozura.

"First of all, I need you to find a Light Dragon Knight."

There was silence. Lykouleon stood up and took several paces away from the table, before facing them again. "Rath doesn't want to play that part. He thinks it's lame." Lykouleon sighed. Ruwalk and Cernozura, Kai-Stern and Alfeegi exchanged glances. Tetheus stared stonily at Lykouleon. "He wants to be the Fire Dragon Knight."

The room exploded.

"But that knocks us back down to two..."

"Really sir, he's so good..."

"If he couldn't even be bothered to audition..."

"Whims of a child dictating a professional shoot..."

"Won't stand for it..."

"It's not right! We've been here all day and only one could hold the screen!"

"Now we have to fire him?"

Lykouleon waited until the initial anger had worn off and then coughed. "I was afraid that you'd cast him."

"Sir, just look at his screen-test," pleaded Alfeegi. "Once you see it, then you'll realise that we can't replace him and that you simply must talk to Rath."

"We'll give Rath a better part," said Cernozura. "He can be... ugh... the Wind Dragon Knight, with the power to... to... revive the dead. And... ugh... be part vampire."

"Yokai," interrupted Tetheus.

"Part yokai, so he struggles with his mission and goes to the dark-side, but comes back." Lykouleon looked doubtful. "Or not," she continued. "He can be the surprise series bad-guy, but it'll be really cool!"

"And we'll put extra sparkles on his costume," added Ruwalk. "Or leather, leather straps. He can wear a red coat!"

"I think that I already broke the Light Dragon Knight idea for him," said Lykouleon, as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry, guys, but he really wants it. And while his mother takes half of my income every month, the only way I can get back at her is to make sure that Rath loves me more. He's the Fire Dragon Knight. You'll just have to let this other guy down."

"I'll go and call Gil," said Alfeegi, quietly. He slumped out of the room and the energy left with him.

"I'll tidy up here," said Lykouleon. "I have to do my share too. Don't worry. You all head on out and get something to eat. We'll meet at my offices after you're done and discuss the screen-tests and the first episode." He pressed a credit card into Alfeegi's hand and said "I've made reservations at the _Fancy Pants_, so enjoy yourselves."

"Are you coming too?" asked Tetheus.

Lykouleon patted his belly. "I've already eaten, so don't worry about me. Go. Shoo."

They left him alone in the studio and he pottered about, moving bits of paper, peering through the camera lens and trying to figure out how to unlock it. He ended up sitting in Tetheus's chair and pretending to interview potential film stars. After all this horrendously tiring work, he turned off the lights, leaned back in the chair and dozed off.

The door handle jittered about twenty minutes later. Lykouleon napped on, although his face twitched. Then a series of clicking noises came from the lock and the handle started to turn again. This time, the producer opened an eye and peered down along his feet to the door. With a final click, the handle revolved all the way, the door swung open and a shadow slipped into the room.

"I'm afraid you're too late," boomed Lykouleon. The shadow froze. "Turn on the light, we might as well get a good look at you."

The light clicked on, revealing a young punk in green hair and black clothing.

Lykouleon stepped backwards and started tapping his foot. "Green hair, eh? I guess that must be the fashion with the young people nowadays. So, are you a... what do they call them... goth? Are you a goth, son?"

"No, sir," replied the lad, uncertainly, "I listen to _the Clash_, actually."

"Good, jolly good," continued Lykouleon, his foot still tapping like a six year old girl in a world record attempt. "You really should have been here earlier, you know."

"I know, sir," said the punk, slowly, "but I couldn't make it any earlier."

"Still," said Lykouleon, his hips now jerking along with his foot. "The production is behind schedule and Lord knows we need another teenager... What's your name, boy?"

"Thatz," said the punk, brazening it out.

"T-A-T-S?" asked Lykouleon, writing it down.

"T-H-A-T-Z," replied Thatz, scoping out the room. "I'm sixteen."

"That's the same as one of the others," mused Lykouleon. "Hmm, I'm part of this production too... I'm the producer. I've already cast two people... I can do screen tests... I've heard them talk about them anyway... How hard can it be? It is my fault they had to fire that other guy..." He stalked over to the camera and fidgeted with it. "Do you know how to make these things work?"

Thatz ambled over to him, clicked a few buttons, flipped a switch and the television screen flared back into life. "I know a thing or two," he said.

"Good," replied Lykouleon. "Now stand over there, on that mark thingy and wow me."

* * *

oOo

_The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ is a book, radio drama and now a motion picture that was created by Douglas Adams. His Dirk Gently novels are absolutely brilliant, although _The Salmon of Doubt_ doesn't really count, since he never finished it - it wasn't even a draft.

Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button.


	3. Lights, Camera,,, Lights Again

Thanks everyone for continuing to patronise _Dragon Knights Sentai_. This is the third, ten more to go. (Well, nine and an epilogue.) This chapter has nothing that should scare anyone off... except for decapitation.

oOo

* * *

oOo

_Click click clickety, click-click clack._ Cernozura cursed the screen and sighed, typing away, when the mailbox icon lit up. She clicked on it and her email programme booted up: _retrieving 1 of 1_. The message, _Hi there, I'm Alfeegi_, flashed up on screen, along with a video file. She ran it and laughed when Alfeegi began posing on the screen, along to a disco beat.

"Kai-Stern's dead when Alfeegi finds out. He's just asking for trouble."

She closed the video and went to close the email programme as well, but stopped. For a one line email, there was a lot of text on the screen and they were all addresses, a long chain of forwarded emails, some of which she recognised. When she'd read through the whole list, she cringed. "Alas poor Kai-Stern," she mourned. "It's bound to get back to Alfeegi now."

The phone trilled, distracting her from Action Kai's impending doom. She picked up and sat straighter when she realised that it was Lykouleon.

"How's the first chapter going?" he asked, on the other end of a very bad line, with someone shouting in the background.

"Great, great," she lied, bashing a few of the keys in pique. "Just typing away here."

"So what's the shape of the story?" The person in the background grew more irate and then muffled.

Cernozura leaned back into her leather chair, an unbelievable grin of glee appearing. "I decided to launch straight into the action. The three knights... what's this new guy's name again?"

"Thatz," croaked Lykouleon, the line crackling and hissing. "He's a sixteen year old punk. Green hair. Likeable. I'll send you the screen test, once I work out how to upload the file to my PC."

"Well, if he's a punk, then I guess that I can write his character as a thug, or perhaps a thief," she mused, reaching for a leaky pen and making notes on the palm of her hand.

"Thief sounds better," replied Lykouleon. "He's a slight little guy, although surprisingly muscular."

"Okay," she replied, scribbling down _punk, tough, thief, from the gutter, hard life, but cheeky._ "Anyway, the scene opens on the road..."

"Good."

"...With the three knights. There's a bit of banter and Thatz is carrying a package, which turns out to contain the head of a great yokai lord."

There was silence, a crackle, a pop and then "A head?"

"Yes," said Cernozura, putting her feet up on the desk, "A head. That's just the sort of gruesome stuff that you have in boys' stories, isn't it? I don't know because I haven't read that much."

"Make it Nadil," he said in a rush.

"What?" Her feet slipped from the table and banged off the floor.

"Call the demon lord who's been beheaded Nadil." A deep chuckle came down the line. "It would amuse me to think that our three knights were carrying Nadil's head around and it would drive him crazy. Great idea, Cernozura. I love it!"

"Sir," she cried, sitting bolt upright and pulling her chair closer to the phone. "You can't be serious. It's a terrible idea."

"Oh don't lose faith in your vision," replied the crackling phone. "I knew that you'd give me a fresh new angle. It's controversial, yes, but that'll work for us. I'm sending you a bonus for this one."

"But sir," she wailed, sinking down into the chair. "I have another idea instead."

"No, I like the head," replied the phone. "It's edgy and a good item for a plot arc. I see it now: everyone's after the head, good guys, bad guys, Nadil's loyal wankers and other demons who crave his power. Yeah. And some guy who just wants to hang it on his wall and laugh. It's a great idea. Run with it Cernozura."

"But..." she sobbed.

"Ooh! Got a call on another line. I've got to go. Great work Cernozura, baby. I can't wait to see the script. Later!"

With that, he hung up; Cernozura kept the phone to her ear. "But I didn't mean it. I just wanted to prove that I'm not able for this. I just wanted you to fire me."

She collapsed over the keyboard and bawled.

oooOOOooo

Tetheus tried to collar Lykouleon on site. The film crew had decamped from the studios to a hamlet in the countryside, one of the many locations scouted out by Kai-Stern. The executive producer had joined the rest of the crew to get some air and soak up some excitement, although he hadn't checked in with any of the main staff members. Tetheus eventually got fed up of waiting for an appearance and decided to hunt him down. He finally caught sight of his boss after a half hour of fruitless searching, although Lykouleon refused to acknowledge his hails or turn around.

The white-garbed man flitted through the hubbub of gawking residents, hard-working crew and hangers-on like a ghost, always one step ahead of his director. Tetheus set his face to a deep glower and the mixed mob of confused crew and the glut of autograph hunters steered clear and looked for someone else to bother. The producer floated unhassled through the crowds, his blonde hair a beacon to his disgruntled director while he drifted on, head turning left and right, never hurried, but somehow moving fast.

Tetheus grabbed him when he stopped outside the dressing room trailer.

"Are you sure about this, Lykouleon?" he asked.

The producer turned, confusion turning to a bright smile when he recognised Tetheus. "Sure about what, Tetheus?"

"The script says..." Tetheus rifled through the bound copy in his hands and stopped a few pages in, "...that the Dragon Knights are carrying someone's head. We can't film that. There are censors, you know."

"I know," Lykouleon reassured him. "They'll never let it past, but we'll get a lot of coverage with the preview. It'll create a huge fuss. Then we can dub over the footage, saying 'Nadil's crown' instead of 'Nadil's head', so be careful how you shoot it."

"Ah," snorted Tetheus. "Marketing."

"Let me worry about promoting the series," said Lykouleon. "I'm going to get a huge audience for this show, anyway I can."

Tetheus nodded and started to head off, but Lykouleon restrained him. "Have you seen Raseleane?"

He shook his head. "Alfeegi's keeping track of everyone. Actually, scratch that. I think that Ruwalk's taken over. Alfeegi's too busy to look after talent as well and Ruwalk has to dress them all anyway."

"Ruwalk's in wardrobe?" Lykouleon asked, with his hand raised to the door.

Tetheus shrugged. "Alfeegi keeps rushing past asking where everyone is, then someone comes through looking for him. We need walkie-talkies. Maybe then we wouldn't have to chase anyone down."

"Mobile phones?" suggest Lykouleon.

Tetheus shook his head again. "There's no group chatter on them."

"I'll ask Alfeegi to arrange some," the producer said, pulling a mobile out of his pocket and scrolling through the contact list.

"Careful he doesn't bite your head off," warned the director.

"Good point," he agreed. "I'll send a text message. Alfeegi needs a nick-name. It might de-stress him a little. There's more to life than the petty things he worries over."

"Petty things like your sentai show?" Tetheus murmured, raising an eyebrow and slinking away.

Lykouleon smiled and knocked on the dressing room door. "Is it okay for me to come in?"

An incoherent voice replied and he entered. As the door closed behind the producer, Tetheus gazed at his copy of the script and walked back to the set, a winding country road, with painted bushes and papier mache stones for extra authenticity.

"We're shooting it," he said, nodding to Gow, the cameraman. "Let's get set up for the first establishing shot."

After twenty minutes of work the camera was set on a dolly rail at one end of the road and they managed to exclude most of the pylons from their planned tracking shot. Tetheus, his lighting director Delte and Gow were arguing over who'd have to trek back to the trailers to call for the actors when a runner loped up and handed him a walkie-talkie. Tetheus turned it on and instantly got a earful of barracking.

"Alfeegi," he said, holding down the correct button, "let's keep the channel for work. If you have a grievance make a private appointment for it."

"Black Wolf, this is Blue Wolf. Do you copy? Over," barked the walkie-talkie in return.

"STOP PLAYING GAMES!" it then shouted, along with a storm of static.

"Blue Wolf, if that's Ruwalk, then this is Tetheus. We're ready for the talent. Bring them down."

"Disaffirmative, Big Man. Yellow Wolf isn't on the channel yet. Breaker, breaker. Over."

"Looks like we're walking," sighed Tetheus to the glum Gow and Delte.

The walkie-talkie burst into life again. "Hello, can you hear me? Hello?"

"Ten four, good buddy. What's your handle there? This is Blue Wolf. Over."

"My name's Ruwalk and I'm on the wrong channel again. I've got a walkie-talkie, not a CB radio,."

I hear you, breaker, breaker, this is Blue Wolf at the catering truck."

"KAI STERN! STOP PLAYING AROUND!"

"Ruwalk?" said Tetheus, holding down the switch. "This is Tetheus. We're ready for our knights down on site."

"Great! I'll bring them over. See you soon."

"Please say _'Over'_, guys. Otherwise we don't know when you're finished speaking and it's less fun that way. Over."

"KAI STERN SHUT UP!"

Tetheus turned the volume down and ignored the rest of their bickering. He spent the next few minutes discussing shots with Delte and Gow until four figures appeared on the horizon.

"He's always doing embarrassing things like this," stated one, a scowling, dark-haired teenager. He was dressed in typical medieval gear: scuffed leather and rough canvas, although the streak of red in his hair certainly wasn't period. "He signs me up for all sorts of shows. Shooting starts at the crack of dawn, so I never get to lie in, whereas he snoozes until noon. How fair is that?"

"My family wasn't too happy that I wanted to act," replied Rune, now with blonde hair trailing down his back. He continually reached up to touch it, feeling the edges where it covered his own hair and lifting and dropping the heavy, new locks. "Getting this show proves that I've a talent and if it all goes well then they'll finally give me a break."

"I didn't wait for anything like this," mumbled Thatz, absentmindedly. His green hair had survived untouched and his clothing was more worn than the other twos, although it was suspiciously bulky in places. "I just dropped out."

"Wish I could do that," mumbled Rath, kicking a stone and watching it bounce down the windy road. "Dad'd go spare; then mum'd go mental; they'd fight; I'd get no sleep, what with yelling and being woken up to choose sides; eventually they'd settle down and I'd get a pony."

"What's wrong with that if you get a pony out of it?" gasped Thatz, grabbing Rath's shirt.

"I already have thirteen," replied Rath. "There's no room for more and you can only ride one at a time and I get horse-sick anyway."

"So why do you have thirteen?" asked Rune.

"Mum gave me one after their first blazing row. Dad gave me two as soon as he heard. The first one died, so mum bought three. After the fifth blazing row, dad turned up on the doorstep with four new ones. Mum got cross and sold two of those and bought me five of the miniature ones." He sighed. "It goes on. I'd give them away if it wouldn't cause another battle. I'm not looking forward to learning to drive. I'd never be able to take the car out without crashing into a new "present" in the drive-way."

Ruwalk who nodded and smiled, but kept silent as the three boys spoke, finally hailed Tetheus when they came close enough.

"Any word on Raseleane?" asked the director, leaving a huddle by the main camera.

"You mean my new mother?" interrupted Rath, rolling his eyes.

"What makes you say that?" asked Ruwalk, leaving his mouth open as he stared down at his young charge.

"You know Dad," he replied. "He hasn't stopped talking about Raseleane in weeks. He's bought all of her CDs and made me listen to them and he's bought a new, hipper wardrobe." Rath snorted. "He only ever does that when he's trying to impress someone. I had to count his wrinkles this morning."

Ruwalk sighed and Tetheus shook his head. "As long as he doesn't scare her away before we shoot her crucial scenes," he said, looking back towards the trailers, before returning his attention to the newly arrived group. "Do you have the package?"

Ruwalk pulled a head-sized bundle out of the bag he carried. It was covered in a red and white polka-dotted handkerchief and neatly tied. "Ta-da!"

Tetheus looked at it. "I know that's traditional, but do we have an option in blue? Green?" Ruwalk raised his eyebrows and Tetheus continued. "I'm thinking of the colour scheme. Red might be too garish with all the muted tones about at this time of day."

Ruwalk pulled out a few other hankies. "We should have gone over this earlier," he muttered.

"I know," replied Tetheus.

After testing them with the Knights, Tetheus handed the red and white bundle to Thatz.

"Okay," he said, gesturing along the road. "We're just doing some establishing shots right now, so I want you to go down there until you come to the big boulder. Wait until I shout _ACTION_, then start to walk along the road. Keep it natural, keep it casual and make sure that the package's in shot. We're not recording any sound, so don't worry about lines."

The knights set off while Tetheus and Ruwalk retreated to the camera and some hot coffee. The boulder was a garbage bin, covered in an old sheet and smelling quite rancid.

"Start soon, start soon," muttered Rune. "God that's an awful stench."

"Really?" said Thatz, without paying attention. He threw the package into the air and caught it on his finger. Rath clapped.

"Quick!" yelled Rune, tugging at Rath, "Ruwalk's waving. I think Tetheus must have called _action_."

They trooped up the road. Thatz kept the bundle balanced on his finger, although it fell off when he tried to spin it.

"That's amazing," said Rath. "Where's you learn to do that?"

"A delinquent youth," replied the green-haired punk, with a grin. He set the handkerchief up again. "You learn lots of useless skills."

"Is it all right for us to talk like this?" asked Rune, stepping nervously onward. "They're still filming us."

"Nah, it's grand," replied Rath, turning to him. "They're not recording us and it's a distance shot anyway. They'll make us do it a few times, so it's best to enjoy talking while we can."

They sauntered on, chatting away and growing larger in shot, almost crashing into the camera before Tetheus yelled _CUT_ and wandered over. "That was great," he said, while Ruwalk plied them with tea. "I like what you did with the head, Thatz. Keep it up. Have fun with it. We'll film it a few more times, so if you can go back to your mark and line up in the same order, that'll be great."

Rath sighed, handed back his tea and turned around. "Welcome to the boring side of a glamorous business, boys," he moaned.

oOo

* * *

oOo

Thank you for reading even more. I hope you liked it. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button. Sorry that ff. net forbids responses to anonymous reviewers.


	4. Season Premiere

It's been a month and this isn't really ready, but I wanted to post something up. Luckily, I have an excuse - my wisdom teeth were removed two weeks ago and I wasn't fit for much. Everything was going smoothly, but I'm only now back on real food and one of my wounds has started hurting. I hope it's not infected.

Future updates shouldn't take so long.

This was held back in order to rework the Cernozura and Ruwalk-ness. If you've any suggestions, please take notes and hand them up at the end of class. Believe me, the connection was far worse, thanks to a sucky POV error.

Anyhow, there's nothing to warn against in this chapter - they're just becoming more friendly and in Rath's case, unfriendly.

oOo

* * *

oOo

The trouble started when the first fight scene was filmed. Stage three on the Dragoon Pictures lot had been turned into an underground cave, completely with slimy stalagmites and glistening pools of water. As in all films, this underground lair was astonishingly brightly lit from just a few flickering torches and several thousand watt bulbs.

There was still hammering and banging going on while the legion of werewolf extras, (three actors and several teddy bears) were led through their paces by the fight co-ordinator, a strapping young lad called Bierrez. He'd worked out a frenetic piece of swordplay with the werewolves and was trying to show it to Rath when the arguments started.

"I've done lots of sword-fighting with my tutor," the actor began, flourishing his sword and stepping out into the centre of the stage. "I expect that I'll carry the fight scenes for the rest of the group."

Rune nodded eagerly. His sword was held awkwardly and his cheeks were still flushed from attempts to stab the air with conviction. Standing near him, Thatz took a break from eating an apple and shrugged.

Bierrez nodded, blew some hair out of his eyes and ran through the steps he'd developed.

Rath responded by rolling his eyes. "No," he snapped. "In this situation I'd use Grippa." He flourished the sword and pounced forward. "Look at the rocks! Your style is completely wrong."

"Your style is also completely wrong," snarled Bierrez, trying his version again. "You're not supposed to be a swashbuckler; the director said that you were more of a brawler with passion and no restraint."

"How can you be a knight without training in swordplay and how can you learn swordplay without studying Grippa?" drawled Rath.

"Oh yeah?" countered Bierrez, lunging forward and aiming a slice at the air in front of Rath. The Fire Dragon Knight leaped out of range, snarled and counter-attacked. Their swords came together with a mighty _THUCK_. Rath lowered his and rapped it with his knuckles.

"It's wood!" he exclaimed.

"You weren't seriously expecting live steel?" asked Bierrez, putting up his own sword and standing back.

Rath nodded and Bierrez replied scornfully. "You can't trust actors to use real weaponry. They might hurt someone!"

"What about the _cling_ noises from the old Errol Flynn films?" asked Rath, sticking to his guns.

"Those sound effects are added later by foley artists," the stunt co-ordinator replied, trying to fold his arms without dropping the sword and giving up.

"All right," sighed Rath, swinging his sword at a fake rock and denting it. "Let's try it your way."

Five hours later they were still arguing.

"No!" shouted Bierrez, waving his hands to his left. "Aim to the left of his head! To the left!"

"But then I completely miss him," wailed Rath, as a werewolf cowered at his feet.

"Exactly!" screamed Bierrez.

"That makes no sense!" he responded, flinging his sword out. The werewolf - saved from a nasty bruise by dropping to the ground - clamped a hand to his chest as Rath stamped up to Bierrez.

"It's television," replied Bierrez, picking up a rock and exposing the hollow innards. "It's not real."

Rath poked Bierrez in the chest with his wooden sword."I miss him by a mile!" he moaned.

"Look," said the stunt co-ordinator, pushing the sword to the side and using it to point to Gow. "The camera will film you from over there. From that angle, the fight will look more real than an actual fight. Now just do as I tell you, no-one will get hurt and it will look good."

"This isn't as much fun as I thought it would be," grumped Rath, stalking back to his mark.

"As a matter of interest," said Bierrez, wearily. "Was your tutor a martial artist, or a specialist for film and television?"

"He was one of the top fencers in the country last year," replied Rath.

"Ah," muttered Bierrez. "Amateurs."

oooOOOooo

The extras filed out past Ruwalk and Cernozura, nursing several injuries and sprouting splinters. One had an arm splinted with a broken sword and Ruwalk couldn't stop staring at him until he turned the corner and went out of sight.

"It seems to be going well. Do you think it's going well?" stammered Cernozura. She goggled as Bierrez threw a bucketful of battered swords onto a nearby skip and slouched off again.

"Apart from the fight scenes," said Ruwalk, jerking his thumb at the injured actors. She blanched and he grasped her arm and squeezed gently. "The script's good; the crew - gathered at short notice - is good; the actors are good; the main players are happy, except for Alfeegi, but I've heard that he's never satisfied with anything and that the day he smiles is a day that will be celebrated by everyone he's ever worked with." Ruwalk held up the paper bag in his hand as though it were a weapon and both of them turned around, checking for the touchiest man in television. With the coast clear, he continued. "In fact, everything's going really well and we should be all set for the premiere next week."

"I'll be sure to tune in," joked Cernozura. She blushed. "Despite all the stress and worries about getting the scripts done, I'm getting quite excited about it."

Ruwalk ducked his head and the headphones that were draped around his neck banged against his lapels. "With Lykouleon, everything moves so fast that there's no time for nerves." He shook his head a few times, nearly catching himself in the eye with his dangling headphones. "Otherwise I'd be stressed more about the viewing party." He stopped and held out a hand to his companion. "You do know about the plan, right, because we're all going to watch it together."

"What a wonderful idea!" she squealed, clapping her hands together. "Is Dragoon Pictures throwing a bash for us somewhere? Some companies can be really appalling. I only found out that _Romance Academy_ had aired when flicking through the channels while I was supposed to be finishing up episode six."

"No," Ruwalk replied, walking on. "The boss is planning a big, gala event." He took several more steps without realising that she'd stopped. "He's really pushing this show and has booked a theatre for the first screening." He looked to his left and found only an empty space. Checking around, he noticed her a few steps back, shaking. She laughed, he nodded, she laughed louder and he restated the facts. "He's invited every name in his book and there'll be a red carpet and paparazzi... everything!"

Cernozura's laugh cut off. They remained still, the silence broken by her increasingly rapid and wheezy breathing. "No," she cried.

"It's okay," said Ruwalk, reaching out a hesitant hand. "It'll be mostly industry... some minor television stars ... some film actors... a few pop stars, liggers and the like."

Her face turned red and she doubled over. Ruwalk emptied the paper bag - his lunch tumbling to the ground - and handed it to her. She held it against her mouth and wheezed in and out. "I can't. I don't have... I've never... I can't afford... A dress! I don't even have a dress! Where would I find...? And how would it...? And what do...? Pictures?"

"Calm down. It'll be all right," Ruwalk reassured her. The colour stayed in her cheeks; her breathing was still frantic. He swallowed. "I've never done one of these things either, but it'll be okay. I'll help you."

"Can you help?" asked Cernozura, finally running out of puff.

"Dressing people is my job," he pointed out, before grabbing her for a big hug. She stiffened, but soon relaxed in his embrace. "I have the biggest make-up kit in the world and I'll even help you pick out a dress."

"Thanks," sniffed Cernozura, holding on tightly, "but I really don't have enough money to pay for a swanky outfit."

"It won't cost you a penny," promised the wardrobe specialist. "Hide the tag and I'll return it after the party. If I have to sew your dress myself, you'll look fabulous at the ball!"

oooOOOooo

Cernozura stood frozen in front of the full-length mirror. The sequins sparkled in the light: surely the colour was too scarlet for a simple scriptwriter and wasn't it cut too low? She jiggled, but her breasts didn't fall out.

"I can't pull this off," she worried, tugging at the neck-line. "A tasteful level of clevage is much higher than this."

A knock sounded on the dressing-room door.

"Are you ready?" called Ruwalk.

"Oh dear," muttered Cernozura. Her hands slid up and down the slinky dress. "It does look nice, but I can't go out in public like this. I'll fall out! He'll see that and then he'll stop picking out these... these..." Her glance fell on the discarded gowns. They ran the gamut from traditional ball-gown to kimono, all colours of the rainbow. Ruwalk had discarded them without a word. All Cernozura had cared about was how long she'd been on her feet and how sore they'd gotten, although she'd spent a lot of time eyeing herself in the red dress. "It looks so pretty."

The knock sounded again and she let him in.

"Wow," he said, his eyes following her curves. Her hands moved stiffly to her sides and she smiled weakly. He walked up to the mirror and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. "We don't look too bad together." They stayed like that until she nodded, when he suddenly let go and started fussing with her dress. Cernozura checked out their reflection. Ruwalk wore a very snazzy tuxedo, which he must have picked out and put on while she was getting dressed herself. Her knees went suddenly weak.

"Can you wear heels?" he asked and she nodded in response. "Hmm, he said, looking into the mirror. "Hang on." He reached up and undid her usual bun, storing the hairclips he removed in his mouth. No sooner was her hair down, than he began to pin it back up, teasing one or two strands, which fell down either side of her face. She blushed.

"Okay," he said, when he'd finished, and he turned to the mirror again. Cernozura's hair was messy, but somehow, it worked.

"If I tried that, I'd just look awful," she muttered, turning her head left and right.

Ruwalk smiled and ducked his head. "We're not done yet. Can you go up on tip toes?" he asked, his glance flicking from her reflection to her feet. "Lower, lower, perfect. Two inch heels and we're a dashing couple."

"Couple?" she restated, stepping back and getting a better view of his face.

"I don't expect you to get yourself ready," he laughed. "I'm not abandoning you, when you've already said that you can't do your hair like that. I'll come over, an hour before we have to leave, put up your hair, do your make-up and we'll head off together."

"You're very kind," she mumbled, before turning her attention to the mirror and smiling at her slinky self.

"It's nice to dress something other than sticky boys," he replied, with a cheeky grin.

oooOOOooo

The cameras flashed for everyone who stepped onto the carpet. Kai-Stern breezed past the snappers; Tetheus stopped and posed for several pictures before plodding into the venue; Alfeegi froze as soon as he stepped out of the car and had to be prodded down the carpet by Kharl the Alchemist who grabbed his arm and waved airily at the paparazzi. Lykouleon's private car drove past, warned by the ushers that his entrance wouldn't be glamourous enough with a stage-struck production manager blocking the path. He lost his space to Ruwalk and Cernozura, who chatted the entire length of the carpet and barely noticed the photographers at all.

The flashes ramped up a notch when the three knights piled out of their limo. Each of them had come in costume, although Rune looked quite embarrassed and sidled along quickly, his wig askew. Thatz swaggered to the door, his dragonsword cradled on the back of his neck like a milkmaid carrying heavy pails, or a prisoner lashed to a stick. Rath stalked the carpet alongside him, glowering when the light got in his eyes and a million copy writers thought up cute names for the trio: Quiet Knight, Fun Knight and Angry Knight.

The last arrival was Lykouleon, the executive producer of the series. He bowed deeply once he'd clambered out of his limo, acknowledging the photographers to his left and right, before extending a hand back into the limousine. He pulled out a delicate hand, which grew an arm and finally revealed itself as one part of Lady Raseleane. The paparazzi went crazy. She unfurled from the car and when she reached her full height leaned up on dainty toes to give a soft peck to Lykouleon. They posed until every snapper had at least one decent set of prints and wended their way up the red carpet, stopping at intervals to pose as required.

"I thought we were coming together: me and him. I left my gameboy in his car," spluttered Rath, watching their approach on one of the televisions inside the theatre. "Stupid idiot wouldn't let me pick it up. God knows when he'll be home. He's a thoughtless, inconsiderate fool and I hate him. He hates me too."

Thatz muttered something comforting, but his words were muffled by the vast amount of food in his mouth. Instead, he patted Rath on the back and dragged him over to the savoury counter, before swiping a glass of wine from one of the trays that were being carried around by uniformed waiters.

"I don't care," shouted Alfeegi into his cellphone. His free hand rescued the wine from Thatz and he took a sip. "When I hired you, you promised me that there'd be eight people on duty at this thing, yet I still have an empty uniform. Now if you want to be paid in full, then you'll need to give me another body - I don't care if you have to do it yourself."

The guests mingled, laughed, talked and drank until a light chime indicated that the feature was about to begin. A red-faced man in an ill-fitting uniform directed the guests to their seats and before long the lobby was empty. The production staff were seated together and Cernozura clenched Ruwalk's hand as the titles rose on _Dragon Knights Sentai_. The feature opened with three knights walking down a road.

"Nadil's head," said Screen Rath.

Lykouleon leaned in and whispered into Tetheus's ear. "The censor passed it?"

"I guess he dislikes Nadil as much as you do," he replied, before filling his mouth with popcorn and munching away.

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Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. All feedback is appreciated, especially romance oriented Ruwalk and Cernozura suggestions, so please click on the review button.


	5. Kainaldia Company

Welcome back to _Dragon Knights Sentai_, a fanfiction based on the works of Mineko Okhami's _Dragon Knights_. It's been fun writing about Lykouleon's production, but of course, he's not the only producer in this story and the others can be even worse to work for.

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A brooding man in a dark green suit paced the hard, wooden floors of his office. He glanced at the papers covering his desk - open to the review pages - which raved about a brand new series and spat at them. A light blinked on his desk and he pushed the button beside it. "What?"

A muffled voice blared out from a hidden speaker, "Fedelta is here to see you. Shall I let him in?"

"Hang on." The man settled himself into an imposing leather chair, mussed his purple hair and then tugged at his jacket until all the creases were gone. Finally, he plastered a scowl on his face and rasped, "Let him in now."

The door opened and a reject from the glam decade sauntered in.

"Lord Nadil," he said, bowing low.

"Get up," snarled Nadil, "and explain why the papers are full of praise for Lykouleon's latest marvel." He grabbed one of the papers and launched it at Fedelta, who bowed again: the paper sailed on, over his head.

"Casting agents were only abuzz last week, when he called an audition at short notice," murmured Fedelta, still bent low. "The production is tight. That's scarcely enough time to choose a cast and design costumes, let alone make them, build sets, write a script and shoot the first episode." He looked up and slowly straightened his back. "Rumours hold that there wasn't even a script until the first day of filming. Even the crew working on the show were in the dark about it. It came out of left field for everyone."

"So there are no copy-cat shows in production and Lykouleon has the field to himself," hissed Nadil.

"Yes, sir," agreed Fedelta. "However I can tell you exactly what Arinas Titles are doing to meet the challenge..."

"Who cares about those has-beens?" snarled the angry man, kicking his chair away from the desk and lurching to his feet. "We have to do a Lykouleon: get a show from nowhere and put it on the air."

"Sir," enquired Fedelta. "We need preparation; it's not a good idea to throw something together too quickly. As pioneers, Dragoon Pictures will be forgiven shoddy production values, but if our sets creak and wobble as much as theirs do, we'll flop."

"The first show in a new genre is not always the best." Nadil stalked the room, kicking the paper as he stamped up to it. It sailed through the air, crashing against the far wall with a satisfying _clush_. "We need to grab this sentai business by the throat and ram it into the audience's face. We need to do it better than _him_," he spat, "with better actors, hotter talent and greater depth. If we can show him up... cast his series as an unsophisticated one with a simplistic world view, then we'll get the kudos and he'll look lame. We need to turn everything his show stands for on its head. What's the basic plot?"

"Ugh." Fedelta scooped up the paper from the floor and scanned through the review. "Basically, these three knights, of fire, water and earth, fight demons called yokai for the Dragon Empire."

"Demons eh?" asked Nadil, focusing on the ceiling while he paused for thought. "Then our show will be about them, except we'll spell it _youkai_ and the tagline will be ... _Youkai Sentai: Our greatest enemy is our only hope_. We'll show these misunderstood heroes who protect a world that fears and reviles them and we'll make dragons the real bad guys."

"Are you sure about that, sir?" Fedelta dragged out their conversation while rooting in his pockets for a pen and scrap of paper.

"Yes. Great, roaring, evil, western-style dragons, breathing fire and eating people."

"Cast?" said Fedelta, making frantic marks on the back of a receipt.

"They have three, so we need three. We need some angst-ridden characters ... with depth." Nadil paused, twirling a pencil between his fingers. "Get the twins."

"They're not available, sir," he said, looking up from his notes. "They're booked solid for the next three months."

"Get it cancelled," cooed Nadil.

"But sir," argued Fedelta, a wan smile on his lips, "the Kainaldia Company pantomime has been a tradition for the last hundred years..."

"What's more important," Nadil asked, reasonably, "entertaining orphans, or beating Lykouleon at his own game?"

Fedelta searched his pockets again, the receipt now covered in his scrawls and found another one. He made a mark on it, then regarded his boss once more. "We have two, who's the third?"

Nadil stalked over to the desk and pushed the intercom button. "Send in the teaboy." He released the button, jerked open a drawer and pulled out a cigar. He lit up without offering one to Fedelta. "We get the twins to push their close relationship; that gives us our niche audience and plenty of column inches."

"What about the censor?"

"We'll be subtle," remarked Nadil, blowing smoke into the air and staining the room with its scent. "If anyone goes overboard, we'll get a cult following; teenagers will feel that they're doing something dangerous by liking a taboo show and college students and geeks in their twenties will spend a fortune on the merchandising to follow. Our show will be far hipper than Lykouleon's and even if we're not as succesful, we'll sour the taste in his mouth."

A knock on the door was followed by the entry of a downcast young man with a trolley. He pushed an impressive mane of hair away from his eye, before pouring the first cup of tea. Nadil took it ungraciously and Fedelta waited until the milk had been poured before refusing a cup of his own.

"Teaboy," barked Nadil. "Stand up straight."

The newcomer complied, pushing back his shoulders and staring rigidly ahead. Nadil prowled around him, exuding incoherent mutterings while Fedelta looked on, a smile on his face.

Nadil eventually stood back and muttered to his underling. "Think he can fill the role?"

Fedelta nodded and Nadil blew smoke directly into the teaboy's face. He didn't respond.

"Go to wardrobe. If they like you then you're hired for my new show."

That lit the fire in his eye. "Really, sir? I'm so grateful. I never thought that I'd get this chance again," he blubbed. He stepped forward and reached out his hand, before thinking better of it and rubbing the back of his head. "I'll do my best, sir."

Nadil nodded and gestured toward the door. The teaboy took the hint and headed off, although he had to be called back to retrieve the trolley.

Another order was then barked down the intercom. "I'm sending the teaboy down to Lim Kaana. If he fits the catsuit, then he's hired for the new show and we'll need another teaboy." Nadil settled himself back in his chair and continued to puff away, while Fedelta made himself comfortable on the edge of the desk.

"Who's going to write this underground masterpiece?" the glam fan said, while fiddling with a paperweight.

Nadil tipped his chair backwards and thought for a moment. "Set up a meeting with Kirikulus and go yourself. Pay whatever he wants. When that's over, try to hire Kharl away from Lykouleon. Don't pay him whatever he wants - the man has no concept of money."

"Anyone else?"

"Medicinea. She has a good eye and will give us the right look for the series. If we get those three, then the rest of the crew won't matter."

Fedelta bowed and left. Nadil scowled at the papers on his desk: bright, large pictures of Lykouleon and Raseleane enjoying their posed kiss dominated the pages. He pushed the button again.

"Saabel, get in here! I need you to take a lot of ... dictation."

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Yes it was short, but Nadil deserves his own chapter. The next one is twice as long and there's still a lot of work to do. Brief summary: casting problems push a few people into the limelight who are happier behind the scenes. Anyway, back to the grindstone.

So which version will you support? Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button.


	6. Stepping Up To The Challenge

Welcome back to _Dragon Knights Sentai_, a fanfiction based on the works of Mineko Okhami's _Dragon Knights_. This is chapter six, so we're about halfway through the main story. Working out the story beforehand and typing up skeletons for the chapters worked really well, although it has taken far longer than I thought it would to post the whole thing. I've edited and re-edited and by the time I've finished with the last chapter, there'll probably be glaring mistakes in the first chapter again. It hasn't been worked to death though, still feels fresh and I'm still very proud of it.

Read on and enjoy.

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Lykouleon found out about Nadil's plan very shortly after. It wasn't that Dragoon Pictures had a better spy network than Kainaldia Productions, just that Kharl had to bargain for time off, so that he could make his big debut in _Youkai Sentai_. They battled in the cosy office, checked out the view and re-read the contract, before Lykouleon agreed to let Kharl off the leash.

"That leaves me in a spot, though," the producer mused. "What do I do if I need a bad guy in a hurry and you're stuck at Nadil's beck and call?"

"Can I recommend a young actor named Garfakcy," replied Kharl, helping himself to the sweets on Lykouleon's desk. "I've worked with him before and he's very good."

Lykouleon got the boy's number and promised to call. As soon as Kharl had cleared the building, Lykouleon pushed a button and his assistant put out the word to the production staff: crisis meeting, fully catered. He lounged back in the plush chair and twiddled his thumbs while he waited and then stuffed himself with chicken wings and finished off the chocolate truffles. The staff arrived in dribs and drabs, shuffled into the room, greeted each other, settled into chairs and started picking at the remains. When the buzz of conversation died down, Lykouleon broke the news, his familiar smile oddly absent:

"We've had free reign for the first three episodes, but Kainaldia is playing catch-up and their storyline looks good."

Choruses of moans and reverse sighs echoed through the room. "Kainaldia? They're a good company," stated Tetheus, resisting the urge to suck air in through his teeth.

"Kharl's been hired by them, too," admitted Lykouleon, tempted by another spicy piece of chicken. He tore it into pieces and then popped them into his mouth.

"How can that happen?" asked Cernozura. She was still in the middle of pulling draft scripts and notes out of her bag.

"Well, he insisted that his contract allow for public appearances at children's hospitals and television interviews, as well as one-off pieces of theatre." Lykouleon shrugged: Kharl's riders were notorious, but he was usually worth the extra effort it took to hire him. "It turns out that what was signed also covers long stretches in rival company productions."

"I'd fire whoever drew up that contract," Alfeegi muttered, pushing himself back from the table and looking grimly to either side.

"Oh, we won't see Lamganas again. Anyway, Cernozura," he said, focusing on the script-writer, "we really need you now. They've made overtures to Kirikulus and we need to ramp up our show to match his cred. What's the latest trend?"

Her mouth bobbed open and it was Kai-Stern that piped up: "Boys' love!"

Lykouleon looked past him and spoke directly to Ruwalk. "What's really now?"

"He's right, sir," sighed the designer, tapping his pen against his sketchpad. "It is boys' love. Even shows that aren't aimed directly at women are slipping some in."

"Boys' love it is then!" exclaimed Lykouleon, with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. Kai-Stern was the only one to join in, letting out a hearty "Woo-hoo!"

"Sir?" asked Cernozura, linking names on her notepad with arrows, hearts and mathematical symbols. "Are you sure that you want your son to be in a boys' love show?"

"You're right," he replied, smashing a fist into an open hand. "She'll use that to try and get custody back." Kai-Stern deflated and so did Cernozura. "Still, who said that it had to be the boys?" They looked at him, hope gleaming in their eyes. "I don't want Rath to feel left out, but how about we chuck in a few attractive older guys, some sort of older brother types and then put vaseline on the lens and give them soft focus shots whenever they're together?"

"How're we going to find some hot guys at short notice?" asked Kai-Stern.

"Do you still have an equity card?" replied the producer, face carefully impassive.

Kai-Stern nodded.

Lykouleon smiled. "That's one."

Kai-Stern's face froze while he tried to process the information and Ruwalk laughed.

Lykouleon chuckled along. "Once we organise a card for Ruwalk, that'll be two."

"Me, sir? I'm flattered," started Ruwalk. He didn't finish, just rubbed the back of his head and grinned.

"Okay then, that's a start." The producer brought his hands together and rubbed them briskly. "What else can we do to compete with Nadil?"

"Maybe we could add a darker twist to the storyline," rumbled Tetheus from his corner.

"And some light romance, to balance it and make the dark bits harder to bear," added Cernozura. "Our young heroes should have girls to take some of the burden away and shore them up in dark moments.

"Good call," said Lykouleon. "Now, then, possible choices for the love interests?"

"How about Cesia, the girl from the first episode?" asked Ruwalk. "She's about the right height for Rath and they'd look good together."

"I liked her," agreed Tetheus. "She was easy to work with."

"Rune is an elf," added Alfeegi, making a note to call Cesia's agent, "so we could say that he's actually a few hundred years old and already married."

"Then why doesn't he live with her, or mention her at all?" said Kai-Stern, pouring scorn on Alfeegi's idea.

"What if their love is a tragic one?" asked Cernozura, scribbling away furiously. "Elves are magical, so Rune's story should be a fairy-tale."

"And his wife's Cinderella?" joked Ruwalk.

"Or Sleeping Beauty," corrected Tetheus. "If some tragedy made her fall asleep, then Rune wouldn't want to talk about it and it'd explain the nervous energy that the actor has on camera."

"And Thatz?" asked Kai-Stern.

"I can't see Thatz in any sort of relationship," muttered Cernozura. "Besides, we can't pair them all up that neatly or that quickly."

Tetheus nodded and Lykouleon drew the meeting to a close.

"That's settled then. Alfeegi, sign up Cesia and we'll re-introduce her in the episode after next. The current arc should wrap up in one more, right?" Cernozura responded by pulling a script out of her bag and sliding it across the table. "Okay, then so next week, the Dragon Queen sends the boys on a mission of great danger and urgency. Someone gets badly hurt and a few innocent extras die on camera. Anything else? Oh yes: Kai-Stern and Ruwalk should appear, even briefly, and fawn over each other a bit. We don't want it to seem as though this new direction is a response to Nadil. It should appear as though this was planned from the very start."

oooOOOooo

Of course, no-one told Rath. He was surprised when Bierrez broke off their unfriendly sparring to go and talk to a girl who'd just stepped out of wardrobe. "You know her?" he asked, trying to remember where he'd seen the girl before. She was dressed in high quality clothing, although it was without the brocade and frills that marked a noble of _Dragon Knights Sentai_.

"This is Cesia," said Bierrez, reluctantly stepping aside long enough for Rath to see her face. "We went to the same acting school for a few years. I dropped out to concentrate on stunt choreography, but she stayed."

"At least until my evil aunt died and I had to make my own way," said Cesia, pushing Bierrez aside and offering her hand to Rath. "I've been offered enough work to keep me. I was in the first episode as the witch's ward."

"That drippy, little peasant was you?" said Rath. "But you were a demon, weren't you? I hate demons!" With that, he stormed off.

"What's crawled up his ass?" asked Cesia.

"Method acting," responded Bierrez, morosely. "Anyway how're you?"

"Not too bad. I'm looking after a kid part-time to pay my rent." She frowned and scanned the area, before biting her lip and leaning in to whisper, "look you haven't seen him have you? His name's Zoma. I stashed him in the prop room before my scene, but he was gone when I came back, along with a space hopper."

"We'd better find him before the producer hires him," sighed Bierrez, shouldering his sword and offering her his free hand.

Rune waved at them on his way to fetch Raseleane. He had jumped at the chance to escort her onto set and talk a little bit about her music. It was funny, but three episodes in and he still hadn't seen her around set much. Lykouleon, the producer, tended to monopolise her, even when she was shooting a scene, miming encouragement from the sidelines and annoying everyone. Raseleane took it all in good grace. She was a lady and above pesky annoyances, like huge fans asking for autographs. Yes, Raseleane wouldn't mind signing a few albums, pictures, or toilet covers.

He sang as he rapped on the door to her trailer. "Knock, knock, knock."

"Come in."

Rune took a huge breath, puffed out his chest and climbed into the trailer. It was decorated in soft pinks and was more luxurious than the one he shared with Thatz and Rath. It was also bereft of one Raseleane. A small, blonde girl sat by the table, smiling gently at him instead.

Rune crooked a half smile as he tried to figure out whether make-up could make that much of a difference to someone's appearance. "Could it be a wig? That marvellous crown of hair?" he muttered under his breath as he timorously approached.

"Sorry," said the girl. "Can I help you?"

Soft, blonde hair, prettier even than Rune's own wig, framed a lovely face. She wasn't Raseleane, but she might have been cast from the same china.

"Um," he stammered, stepping closer. "They, they, uh, they, want Lady Raseleane on set. It's um, it's um, our, our big scene."

The gentle smile froze. "She's not here."

"She's not?" repeated Rune, mouth gaping like a fish. "Who're you?"

"I'm Tintlett," replied the girl, her head falling into her hands and her feet kicking the table. "I'm Raseleane's Personal Assistant and my first day is not going well at all."

"Tintlett," repeated Rune. "What a lovely name!"

oooOOOooo

Rune and Tintlett ran into the studio, hand in hand. The giddy knight pranced up to Tetheus and Alfeegi, suppressed the tingles in his stomach and put on his serious face before speaking to them. "There's a problem. Raseleane's not here."

"They've released the theme song as a single and she's promoting it," added Tintlett once she'd caught her breath.

"Whose idea was that!" snapped Tetheus, coldly.

Tintlett shrank under his glare, but found strength when Rune squeezed her hand. "Ugh, the producer rang this morning and said that he'd arranged a round of interviews. She sent me to her trailer to pick up her things and meet at the studio. Since Lykouleon was the show's producer, I didn't think that I needed to talk to anyone." She shook her head and sighed miserably. "I was hired so that this sort of thing wouldn't happen."

"That's it; we're screwed," stated Alfeegi, throwing some papers into the air which fluttered down as scurrying figures tried to catch them. "Who needs to worry about Nadil, when our own producer is sabotaging us? We need to shoot this scene today. We're on location tomorrow! There's nothing we can do."

"Calm down," said Tetheus. "We can improvise. Go to wardrobe and put on some sort of noble clothing."

"What?" replied Alfeegi.

"We'll see if we can shoot around you and then fix it all in the post production," responded Tetheus, moving around his production manager and looking at him through his viewfinder. "We need someone on set for the knights to react to. Don't worry."

Alfeegi smacked his hands off his thighs. "How could that possibly work?"

"We'll dub Raseleane's voice over you," mumbled Tetheus, while gesturing to Delte.

"I look nothing like her," expounded Alfeegi, grabbing onto Tetheus and pulling his attention back.

The director stared at him blankly. "We'll think of something."

His head dropped onto Tetheus's chest. "I thought that Ruwalk and Kai-Stern..."

"Ruwalk's applying make-up to some demons. That'll take hours and Kai's not here. Just go," he replied, shooing the reluctant actor away. "Ask Ruwalk for some make-up and a wig."

oooOOOooo

Alfeegi did not look comfortable on film. He moved stiffly, missed his marks and his expression implied that milk was curdling in his mouth. Tetheus eventually told him to stand still while they shot over his shoulder, but that came out badly too. While he and Delte looked over the playback and tried to work out a plan to get blood from Alfeegi, the knights grew bored.

"Alfeegi," shouted Rath. "Why's a girl doing all your talking for you?"

Rune elbowed him in the back and waved to Tintlett, who had been reading Raseleane's lines off-camera. She waved back. "Alfeegi's the boss," he hissed. "Behave."

"Actually," yawned Rath, without covering his mouth, "my dad's the boss. He hired Alfeegi."

"He wouldn't dare fire me," snapped Alfeegi, fire flaring in his eyes. "The amount of crap I have to deal with, he couldn't get anyone else to do it. He'd kill your character off before firing me. I have a better contract."

"Then why're you the stand-in for Raseleane? How come they didn't pick out some two bit ham? Anyone'd do a better job Alfeegi, you're awful at this," added Thatz, firing pot-shots from a safe position behind Rath.

"Kai-Stern and Ruwalk are supposed to handle this sort of thing." Alfeegi simmered, his clenched fists were trembling and his shoulders shook. "They were professional actors: I just wanted to direct! I didn't want money or girls, I wanted to create something of my own! I hate being on camera."

"I dunno, Alfeegi," Thatz consoled him. "You don't always look this bad." He passed a sly wink to Rath, who grinned.

Rath pouted and posed with a hand on his hip. "Hi there," he purred. "I'm Alfeegi and... Hey! What're you doing?"

Alfeegi pulled the wig from his head and threw it onto the ground. "I've had enough!" he screamed. "It should be bloody Ruwalk dealing with you three. Why in the hells is he so damn busy that he can't spare time to give you this stupid quest?" He thrust a bag into Rune's hands, who stumbled backwards and nearly dropped it. Alfeegi advanced on Thatz who was cowering behind Rath. "Take that and go to Mt. Emphaza!"

Rath opened his mouth and Alfeegi shouted "RATH! THATZ! JUST DO AS YOU'RE TOLD! TAKE IT AND GO!"

The troublesome twosome stumbled over each other in their haste to escape. Rune stayed behind, then gave a nervous grin, waved and ran off after them.

Alfeegi slumped and turned to the camera. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'll do it again when they come back."

"No need," replied Tetheus. "We got the shot we wanted."

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Thanks for reading even more. I hope you liked it. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button.


	7. Crossover

Welcome back to chapter 7 - the Crossover. Glad you made it safely. We're now past the halfway mark...

There are no warnings for this chapter and hopefully it won't seem too far-fetched.

Go on, start reading.

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Small children ran along excitedly, convinced that the circus had come to town. When they discovered that the motley train of trucks and caravans was actually a film crew, they squealed even louder. Now they could be discovered and be famous and brag to all their friends. Alfeegi scowled at them from the passenger seat of the catering truck, where he'd fled after Lykouleon arrived. The crew were going to shoot several scenes where the Dragon Knights fought a legendary demon of the mountain, but there was one problem.

"We can't use it," Tetheus had stated, shaking his head at the sequined chicken suit that Ruwalk had displayed. "A chicken isn't cool enough to be the demon of the mountain."

"Demon of the chicken coup, maybe," had added Alfeegi, picking at the shiny discs, which were being shed onto the floor. "Whose idea was it?"

"My bad," Lykouleon had admitted, clambering into the trailer as it started to pull out. "Oops." He had wobbled his way to a seat and flopped down before addressing Alfeegi. "I hear that you're quite the internet star. My son's installed Dancing Alfeegi wallpaper on every computer in the house."

That was when Alfeegi moved to the front of the truck. As he brushed past Tetheus, the director turned in his seat and shouted down the aisle to Ruwalk. "Why'd you listen to him?"

He shrugged and called back, "Habit, I guess. I've known him so long that I didn't consider not doing as he suggested."

"After the gold lame period costumes, didn't you think that you should start to question his taste?" whispered Cernozura in his ear.

He leaned over and softly replied, "After that debacle, I was offered a job in a couture design house. It didn't end badly for me." He poked Cernozura in the side. "Lykouleon's a good sort. He's done what was expected of him all his life: studied at the college his parents chose; married a woman that he didn't love; now he's realising that he has a choice and it's gone a little to his head."

"A little?" she replied archly. The coach shook going over a stone and she bumped into him. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He smiled. "Our illustrious producer might have gone heavily off the rails, but he's done a lot for me and I owe him. Besides, the worst he does is be infuriating. I've worked with Nadil and he actively enjoys making life harder for people." A huge yawn burst out of Ruwalk then, taking him by surprise. "Excuse me."

"If you're tired, why don't you have a nap on my lap?" she offered. "There's a long journey ahead of us and although we had to get up early, it doesn't mean that we can't make up for lost sleep while we have the chance."

He grinned and stretched out on the long seat, turning until he found a comfortable position to doze in. Cernozura stroked his hair, until the heat and gentle rumbling of the truck started to make her drowsy too.

"Where's Kai-Stern? Has anybody seen him?" yelped Lykouleon, looking around properly and disturbing the two down the back. "Alfeegi," he said, stomping up to the production manager, "have we left Kai-Stern behind?"

"No," replied Alfeegi, glaring out the window. "He's at the site."

"Why'd he make his way out there on his own?"

"Because I just got the filming permit before Nadil applied for one and I don't want him stealing our sites, that's why." He smiled a grin smile and huddled into his coat. "Kai-Stern owes me and that's why he's the one who has to stake out the ground in the cold morning breeze, in a bikini, playing a banjo."

Lykouleon nodded and smiled and backed away. "That gives me an idea," he said, settling in beside Tetheus and the chicken. "Doesn't Nadil's show have a cool-looking lion as one of its main characters?"

"Yes," admitted Alfeegi, listening in despite himself. "Why?"

"I think that I may have a solution to our problem."

oooOOOooo

Lykouleon finalised the details with Nadil on his mobile phone, just as the convey pulled into a sleepy mountain town. Ruwalk woke up as the truck rolled over a speed bump in the parking lot of a hotel. "Hmmp?" he murmured, rising from Cernozura's lap.

"We're here," she said with a start, gathering her things before leaving the truck and joining the rest of the group in the middle of the parking lot.

"Right, Nadil's shooting a little ways away from here," Lykouleon said, once the troops had gathered. "He has three of these youkai sentai, one of which is a lion with a really good costume. That lion is our demon of the mountain."

"What?"

Lykouleon took a deep breath. "Nadil and myself have agreed to shoot a cross-over!"

Cernozura threw a book up in the air. It landed behind her with a thump. "Why do I even bother writing a script?" she asked, rhetorically.

Ruwalk grabbed her hand and squeezed it with a comradely grin, while Tetheus gave her a tight nod.

"Look," said Lykouleon. "Give everyone a camera and tell them to keep shooting. I want footage of his actors that we can use if we need to, um, edit the story slightly from what we agreed. They're offering us full use of the lion and his unsuited self, which should fit in with what we've planned."

"Why would Nadil do that?" asked Tetheus, his eyes narrowed and a finger stroking the tip of his nose.

"The cross-over benefits both shows. It'll boost ratings. His show lacks exposure and ours will gain credibility for helping him out. As well as that, lots of niche fans, with big wallets and little sense have latched onto his little copy. We should show them why the original is the best."

"And?" added Tetheus, his finger paused.

"And I've traded Rath to him for his lion," admitted the producer. "No big deal. He can handle the extra work involved."

The group headed into town, Alfeegi stayed a few paces behind walking alongside Tetheus. "There's a man who was definitely an only child." Tetheus snorted in reply. "What about you, Mr. Director, sir?"

"I have siblings, a brother and sister." His pace slowed as he spoke and the others pulled ahead of them.

"How are they?" asked Alfeegi, uncertain but curious.

"I don't know, we've ... lost touch." he said, plodding along.

Alfeegi continued to probe. "Did something happen?"

Tetheus looked ahead as he replied. "I am the oldest son. When my parents died, I became the head of the household and so quit school and started working. I promised mom to look after my brother and sister and that they'd finish school and go to college. That takes money and I spent so much time working that we barely saw each other. I moved from job to job and was working as a salesman when the lease came up on our house. The landlord decided to sell it and we'd to find a new place to live."

"That's tough," muttered Alfeegi.

"My brother said that he'd find somewhere while I was on a business trip." He stepped around a large pile of fresh dog poo and continued. "He was only sixteen, but I'd faith in him and he called my mobile phone the night before I was due to come home. He'd found a beautiful home for us and would send the details by text message. That night, my battery was running low, so I switched the phone off to conserve power. The following morning, it wouldn't turn on. The phone had suffered water damage a month earlier, when my sister had thrown it in the toilet to keep me from leaving again."

"Tetheus..." said Alfeegi.

"Life doesn't always work the way we'd like it to," he said ruefully, running his hand through his hair. "I got home with a broken phone to find an empty house and no sign of my siblings. I lived in a hotel for a week, leaving notices in newspapers and shop windows, trying to track them down. I even staked out our old house, until new owners moved in and turned it into a brothel, but never saw my beloved brother or sister again. I think that's why I became a director. I thought that if I got famous, they'd know how to get in touch with me and we could meet up again, but nothing."

Alfeegi commiserated as best he could on the walk in, but there was nothing in his experience that came close to Tetheus's and he ended up feeling awkward and unhelpful. Tetheus squeezed his shoulder and thanked him softly, before changing the conversation back to more emotionally neutral topics. Things heated up again when they reached the main square and found Kai-Stern in short sleeves, talking to a man in a lion suit. The head of the costume was on the ground beside him.

"Gil!"

A crowd surrounded the chattering pair and joined in eagerly. Everyone reached out to pat or shake Gil's hand, while Cernozura rummaged through her bag for a laptop and opened it. She balanced it precariously on her knee and checked through the hard-drive until she found her rough first draft which had incorporated Gil as the Fire Dragon Knight. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "I can mash this together with the pre-crossover script."

One person stood back from the love-in. He watched in stoney silence, arms crossed, until Ruwalk detached himself from the group to join him.

"It's not you, Rath," he said. Rath turned and started to walk away. Ruwalk dithered for a moment, but caught up. "At least, it's not you, per se." He sped his pace to match Rath's speaking all the while, in gentle, level tones. "Gil was the original Fire Knight, we all loved him and while you've won us over and the character of Rath is yours, the Fire Knight will always be Gil. It's not because he's a better actor, or a nicer guy, his personality just suits that role perfectly, even better than yours. Casting directors look to match actor to role. It's rare that two people synch up perfectly. We'd found one and we were just gutted that we had to give him up."

"I see," replied Rath, giving nothing away.

"Gil deserved a break. He deserved this role," Ruwalk continued, pressing a little harder. "You'll always be able to find work; it may be harder for you to feel that you've done it on your own merit, but that'll come in time. This role would have made Gil." He stopped; Rath kept walking.

oooOOOooo

While Tetheus and the crew set up for the first shot, Lykouleon, Alfeegi and Kai-Stern poured over the photos for the rest of the locations.

"And this is where the climactic battle could take place," said Kai-Stern, peeling from the pack, a photograph of a treacherous mountain peak, complete with crumbling stone and _danger! rockfall!_ signs. Alfeegi looked it over and grunted.

"Where does the camera go?"

"Huh?"

"I can see how good it'd look - Rath in mighty battle with Gil - but how're we going to film it if we can't fit a camera on that ridge with them?"

"Uh." A bead of sweat formed on Kai-Stern's forehead, then mysteriously disappeared again. "Oh, well, we could use a helicopter. Loads of film circling the battle and so on. It'll look awesome."

"We need more notice than that to hire a helicopter," replied Alfeegi. "The first problem is that we haven't budgeted for it and the second you might have realised if you were listening properly while you were waiting for us."

The other two frowned and concentrated, until the _whup whup whup_ of helicopter blades echoed through the cafe.

"So there is a local helicopter service!" Lykouleon smiled. "Problem solved."

Alfeegi smiled too, although his wasn't genuine. "They're not local and they've been chartered by Nadil."

"We could put up scaffolding," said Kai-Stern, slowly, working the idea out in his head. "Or we could build a bridge from one to the other peaks, like this one!" He peeled another photograph from the pack and gave it to Alfeegi.

"Excuse me, please."

The production manager stood up and walked off. The bell tingled merrily when he opened the door and again when he closed it. He took five steps, then screamed and collapsed into a small ball.

Kai-Stern and Lykouleon watched through the window.

"He'll come up with something," the producer said, returning to the photos.

oooOOOooo

Somehow, Nadil's crew and Lykouleon's crew bumped into each other at every turn. They smiled and were incredibly polite to each other, but somehow, lenses got broken, cameras were hurled over precipitous cliff-tops and Nadil and Lykouleon themselves spent a lot of time together laughing heartily and making japes.

Tetheus rarely took the camera off Gil. They filmed him eating, dozing off in a chair at the inn, a cameraman even followed him into the toilet, although he ran out sharpish. Alfeegi weaved through the confusion without paying any attention, alternatively pleading down his mobile phone, or screaming into it. The crew tried their best, surrepticiously gaining illusive footage of Nadil's big two: the twins. Even though it seemed that every member of Lykouleon's crew had been issued with a camera of some sort, a few with bare seconds of memory on a mobile phone, Nadil's team bristled with them; at least ten brandishing top of the range steadicams. They filmed nearly as much _Dragon Knights Sentai_ as their rivals, even catching Rune picking his nose and Rath cursing as he broke yet another sword. He claimed that the mountain air corroded the wood and everyone nodded along, wary of the gleam in his eye. A call was made and Lykouleon's secretary was despatched from headquarters with a bag of replacements, to arrive later that day.

Strangely, Nadil's army completely missed Thatz's antics. He pottered about, chatting to everyone and although small items went missing shortly after he left, no-one put the two together. He spent a very fruitful day, interrupted by occassional filming, until he bumped into an old aquaintance, herself burdened with gains.

"Kitchel?" asked Thatz. "What are you doing here?"

"Delivery!" said the girl, quickly, shaking a brown bag at him and smoothing a short skirt. "Err, you?"

"Working," replied Thatz, shortly. "Nice to see you again."

"Yes!" agreed Kitchel.

Alfeegi blundered between him, oblivious to the look Thatz gave him. "Look, pal," he shouted into his phone, striking the air to emphasise his point. "I don't need you. Sixty feet of bridge I can get almost anywhere."

Thatz glared at him a little more, then looked back at Kitchel, but the girl had vanished. He frowned and moved away. "I can't let her know why I'm here," he muttered. "She'll think that I've gone soft."

Kitchel bit her knuckles from behind the wall that separated them. "I can't let him know that I've sold out," she hissed. "Being a thief is fun, but it's not as important as a steady job and a good pension." She cocked her head. "Funny, it seemed more alluring when Lykouleon said it."

oooOOOooo

Filming continued into the wee hours. Rath was returned for a good night's sleep, but Gil snuck out for extra shoots. Lykouleon and Kitchel spent eight hours yawning, brewing coffee and passing out caffeine sweets. Ruwalk ran up and handed out new pages from Cernozura to the crew as she finished them and rubbed her muscles when the carpal tunnel acted up. The hustle and bustle carried on until morning, while Rath slept on, dreaming of validation and the seductive promises of his father's greatest rival.

oOo

* * *

oOo

Kelly's Heroes ref.

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	8. Treading the Boards

The air in the editing room was hot and humid. The space was too small to hold the number already inside and Alfeegi had to almost sit in Tetheus's lap to make room when Lykouleon paid one of his rare visits. The producer stepped over Cernozura, nearly clipping her legs with his shoes, and forced the two even closer together.

"How's it going?" he asked to the small cadre going over the dailies.

Cernozura grunted as she made another note in the bundled paper on her lap. "If she'd just said it slightly differently, I could have written a wonderful piece around it. As it is, we'll have to redub Rath and Rune's lines. Thatz's in shot the entire time, so we can't redo his bit, unless I can come up with a very similar set of sounds."

Alfeegi made a note in his PDA. "Another set of redubs. Are there any scenes that we can use as they are?"

"All the ones with Gil should be fine," Tetheus said. "We shot every permutation of every line he could ever conceivably say and I've some stock footage in the can."

"Well done," said Lykouleon, clapping him on the back and settling in beside him. He opened a bag of popcorn and started to eat. "Let's take a look at what we got."

oooOOOooo

Ruwalk rarely visited Lykouleon at his offices, except when he wanted to feel like a high-powered business executive. The glass was smoked and glinted in the light. Every metallic surface was polished to a steely sheen. The floor made an enthusiastic _click _against his heels and the eavesdroppers were always impressed by a man who could get an appointment with the boss, without any notice. It was snappy and business-like and completely opposite to Lykouleon's warm and cosy home.

His friend hadn't answered his phone though and so Ruwalk ended up at headquarters, cooling his heels while the receptionist searched for the errant boss. She gave him an exasperated grin, before transferring his problem upstairs to Lykouleon's secretary and the comfortable chairs. He hummed the Happy Ruwalk song while the pushed the button for the lift, he hummed it while the lift took him to almost the top floor and he hummed it while browsing through the magazines on offer in the waiting area. In fact, he only stopped when Rath's familiar sigh broke through the jaunty air.

"I've been thinking about what you said," the young man intoned, hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground by Ruwalk's boots.

Ruwalk dropped the magazines back on the small glass table and anxiously sat forward. "Rath."

"As long as I work for my father, I'll never be able to prove that I have talent of my own."

"Rath," Ruwalk pleaded, sliding back into the chair, pushing himself forward again and eventually standing up and sitting on the arm-rest. "Lykouleon doesn't hire people if they can't do the job. You got to his notice because you're related to him, but he chose you because you're good."

Rath shook his head. "As long as I'm under his wing, I'm in his shadow. I'll always need his protection until I prove myself."

"Prove yourself?" he asked, his breath catching in his mouth and his heart thumping loudly in warning.

Rath looked him directly in the eye, for the first time since he hit puberty. "Nadil offered me a job. If I take it, then it proves that I'm more than my father's son. If my dad's greatest rival hires me, then that shows that I have something, that I deserve the breaks that I've been given."

"You're the star of our show. The critics rave about you." Ruwalk's mouth worked while his brain raced to process the information. Rath was leaving?

"Not all of them," responded Rath, shuffling his feet. "It's for my career."

"When do you start?" Ruwalk blabbed, his mind working out the vital steps to keep his best friend's son

Rath looked away. "I have to quit the show."

"You can't quit!" _Denial._ "You're the star!" _Praise._ You're under contract!" _Desperation._

"Dad can't stop me if I choose to walk away." He turned and did just that.

Ruwalk grabbed his arm and pulled him back for one final warning. "Nadil's treacherous. Don't believe his promises and always keep a good friend completely separate to his influence. It saved my life."

He let go and Rath walked out. Ruwalk watched him until Kitchel intruded on the moment. "Sir, I've got Lykouleon on the line for you."

Ruwalk grabbed the phone and moaned into it: "We got a problem."

oooOOOooo

Lykouleon relayed his words to the room. "Our lead is taking an unexpected vacation." He frowned and shook his head, but the furrows stayed. "What're we gonna do?"

Cernozura sighed. "Why do I ever write anything in advance? Why do I finish early? It only aggravates me more when these idiots decide to change things."

"Sir," said Tetheus, addressing Lykouleon. "You have to speak to Rath and convince him to stay."

A ghostly grimace flitted across the producer's face. "He doesn't listen to me. The boy's stubborn. Once he makes up his mind, not even Kai-Stern can change it."

No-one caught what Alfeegi said as it was lost in a dramatic cough. "He does have a contract," he pointed out in a husky voice.

Lykouleon demurred. "I can't take Rath to court. His mother would crow about it for decades!"

At that proclamation, the room descended into brief chaos. Even the technicians, huddled over the equipment and trying to make themselves smaller whispered urgently to each other. "How do we explain that one of the knights has disappeared?" Heads turned and muttered. "We can't film an episode about him going missing without showing Rath at some point."

"What if ... the dragonlord, the dragonqueen's long lost husband," Lykouleon began. "What if he, no ... what if some clue to his disappearance shows up and Rath leaves to find him."

"And who would play this estranged husband?" asked Alfeegi, reaching for the cast-book.

"Well, I would," he said, a smile with more warmth appearing. "I'm Rath's father, after all."

"I hate when the boss gets involved with work," grumbled Cernozura, pressing so heavily with her pen that she marked the page underneath.

"I'm far more worried about the show tomorrow," sighed the producer, neatly distracting his audience.

"What show?" asked Alfeegi.

"Why the big extravaganza planned for the roof of the largest store in town, of course. I want to promote the crossover as much as possible."

"You never mentioned this," screamed Alfeegi, already punching numbers into his phone.

"It's okay, Alfeegi," replied Lykouleon, gently removing the phone from his shaking fingers. "Kitchel's dealing with it. It's her baby, but she's not going to be pleased with Rath."

"How can we hold a show with only two Dragon Knights?" asked Cernozura.

Tetheus stood up. "We need a ringer," he said. "Get the talent book."

oooOOOooo

Nohiro struggled with the concept at first. To be fair, most of his attention was on Rune, now in full Dragon Knight kit and with his wig wobbling dangerously as he scratched the scalp underneath it. "I think there's something living in it," he complained, fingers digging into his hair.

Ruwalk pulled his hands away and smoothed out the damage with a brush. "It's fine," he said. "To put your mind at ease, I'll dose it after the show."

Rune continued to scratch and Ruwalk scolded while Alfeegi and Tetheus ran Nohiro through the basics.

"...So Rath can't be here because of ill health," said Tetheus, leaning against the curtain that hid the performers from view and nearly falling through.

"...But we don't want to disappoint the fans. They'd be heartbroken if they thought that he wasn't here," continued Alfeegi. "So if anyone asks, tell them that you're the Rath from the TV show."

"...You'll be wearing the helmet for most of the show and we've given the majority of lines to the other two knights," added Tetheus, nodding away. Nohiro dumbly mirrored him.

"...They'll cover for you if you make any mistakes," interjected Alfeegi, nodding away as well.

"...The stage should be far enough away from the audience so that they won't realise that you're a different actor," said Tetheus, studying Nohiro's face and then standing between him and Rune. Nohiro looked up. "We've kept your lines simple. Just remember, when you fight the yokai, shout a lot and swing your sword wildly. The guy in the costume's good, he'll jump in the way of your blows and really sell it."

"Why do I have to do this again?" asked Bierrez, looking into the disembodied head of a foam yokai.

"Because we're paying you extra," muttered Tetheus. "Now get dressed. The show starts soon."

Alfeegi and Tetheus escaped through the thin curtain and made their way to the back of the hall. The store had placed merchandise from both _Dragon Knights Sentai _and _Youkai Sentai _on stands there. A crowd of pint-sized fans bustled around them, while waiting for the show to begin. Tetheus stopped near the _Yokai Sentai_ stand to see how well the rivals were selling.

"It's funny," he said, reaching over the children's heads and picking up one of the Shydeman dolls on display. "I didn't notice it when we were editing the show, but that man looks just like my mother."

"Long lost relative?" muttered Alfeegi, before suddenly turning to stare at Tetheus, who shook his head sadly.

"He favoured my father," he said softly, replacing the doll and turning away.

oooOOOooo

The insistent doorbell woke Cernozura from her reverie. She pushed herself away from her desk and slouched towards the door, pausing only to take a sip from the coffee beside the computer. It was stone cold. She grumbled as she fumbled with the lock, until the door finally opened. An anxious Ruwalk burst in, hair plastered to his face from the rain that poured down outside. "You're writing it now, aren't you?" burst out of him.

"What?" she replied, gingerly taking his coat and scarf and hanging them up in the hall.

"My scene with Kai-Stern," he hissed, pacing the tiny hall and shaking his head. Cernozura ducked the sudden mist that launched from his bedraggled hair.

"Actually," she laughed, leading him into the back room that doubled as an office and sitting room, "I've been staring at a blank screen, trying to figure out how to add in our Lord and Master."

"Ah," replied Ruwalk, his nervous energy dissipating, "make sure that you make the most of the opportunity we've been given. This is the only time you'll be able to do whatever you want to the boss without any repercussions."

"What?" she exclaimed, as she disappeared back through the doorway.

"Although, he wants exposure so maybe the best thing to do is to make the part as small as possible, or to disfigure him somehow." Ruwalk perched awkwardly on an arm rest as he worked it out. "See if you can get him into an ugly costume and I'll stitch it badly." He paused. "I do have a sequined chicken outfit that we haven't used yet." he said, shifting from foot to foot and looking out the empty doorway. "At the very least, put his appearance through a filter for the flashback, or something,"

"I know," said Cernozura, coming back in with a towel, which she handed to him before clambering onto the couch, "I'll have Cesia see a vision of him in her crystal ball."

"Saying, 'Rath, please help me!'?" laughed Ruwalk, slumping into the armchair beside her. He grimaced as he dried his hair.

"Hmm," mused Cernozura, picking up her coffee and having another sip. "No. Cesia sees a vision of him in some sort of danger, somewhere recognisable. She'll run off at the end of the scene and then the next one will have you, her, Raseleane and Kai-Stern in it. Raseleane will emote away and you and Kai-Stern will fill out Lykouleon's backstory, without having to get him involved at all."

"Still, explaining that Rath's gone to save him without showing Rath at all... it won't flow well." He let the towel rest about his shoulders. His hair stuck up at odd angles in a tangled mess. "Do you think there's any stock footage of him that we can use?"

"I've a better idea," she replied, drinking some more of the frigid coffee. "Cesia spills the situation, you fill out the backstory and then we'll have a shot of Rath running away, to rescue Lykouleon. The audience will infer that he was listening at the door."

"Where are we going to get that shot from?" Ruwalk resumed the towelling.

"Nohiro!" exclaimed Cernozura, knocking the cup of coffee, but catching it before too much spilled. "He did alright on the stage-show and he looks enough like Rath to carry it off on film. From the back, definitely."

Ruwalk offered the towel to his host, but she demurred. He then nodded. "All with limited screen time for Lykouleon. He will be disappointed."

"He'll claw it back when he's rescued," she said with a sigh. "There'll have to be a big speech and sparkly special effects."

"Not if he's brutally murdered before that happens," said Ruwalk, wickedly. "Say, if all that's left is a head?"

They both laughed.

oooOOOooo

Nadil smiled at Rath from across the cold, black table. He took the contract that Fedelta - patiently hovering behind his left shoulder - offered and slid it over to Rath.

"Sign it," he said.

oOo

* * *

oOo

_Dragon Knights Sentai_ is fanfiction based on the works of Mineko Okhami.

This section was split between two chapters. It was supposed to be about Ruwalk's nervousness over his shonen-ai scene, but the need to talk about Lykouleon intruded and the mood between those two sections was very different. Splitting the scene also doesn't make it seem as long as it would if I'd left it as a giant chapter.

Two important things are happening right now - the development of the script (in particular, the shonen-ai scene) and Rath's bargain with Nadil. Switching between them, as well as keeping the timing consistent and adding tension, also splits the Ruwalk/Cernozura scene.

Thanks for reading. I hope you still like it. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button.


	9. He Love

Warning: The yaoi scene gets filmed in this chapter.

oOo

* * *

oOo

Rath pulled the contract toward him and started to read.

oooOOOooo

Ruwalk sighed, his mood turning as he plucked up the courage to speak out. "Me and Kai-Stern, eh? Is that it, then? Is that our scene?" he asked, nodding at the blinking computer screen, his hands spasming open and closed.

Cernozura leaned forward. She reached out and patted him on the knee. "Can I get you something?" she whispered. "Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, water?"

"Tea, please," he replied, rubbing his legs.

She tripped off into the kitchen, filled the kettle and set it to boil. "Are you hungry?" she called through the hatch. "I've some biscuits or fruit, or ... I've enough curry left over for two if I heat it up."

"No, I couldn't eat," replied Ruwalk, with a weak smile.

She simply nodded in reply and turned her attention back to the tea. She rescued some milk from the fridge and managed to extract sugar from the cupboard without the piled mounds of out-of-date food falling on top of her. While the kettle boiled, she washed out the tea pot, which still had several inches of cold, dark liquid in it. She popped two tea bags in, just as the kettle popped and laid out everything, nice and neatly on a battered tray. Ruwalk gratefully helped himself, when she placed it on the coffee table.

"You're nervous about the boys' love," she said, watching him stir the sugar in, round and round.

"Yes," he admitted. The spoon clattered against the saucer. "Kai-Stern will be fine. He likes that sort of thing, but I've never had any inclinations, or considered having inclinations and I don't want to let the team down by it seeming fake or anything." He stared at the cup, then added some more milk. "Ki- kissing a guy. I don't know if I can do it."

"You won't have to," replied Cernozura.

"Huh?" started Ruwalk, dropping the spoon. "I won't?"

"It's implied, not explicit. Don't worry, you won't be wearing the face off each other." She stretched out on the sofa and kicked off her shoes. "And if you were going to kiss, it'd be very gentle and touching and only after twenty episodes." She smiled. "That's how I write romance. I like to build up a relationship first."

"But me and Kai-Stern, what if we're already in a relationship?" he asked, picking at the spoon, which had slid deeply into the cup, so that only the tip was peeking out of the hot tea.

"I still have to build it for the cameras," she mused, sitting up to pour herself a cup, then sinking back down into the sofa.

"Okay." He breathed deeply and whistled. "I feel better about that, but it still doesn't have to change the fact that I have to convincingly pretend that I love a guy. How do I do it?"

Cernozura pulled her legs under her and scooted closer to the couch's edge. "That's easy. Firstly, there'll be word on the grapevine, so people will be reading gay love into everything you say to each other. Secondly, look at Kai-Stern more often than Raseleane, keep your eyes on him for just a second longer than is comfortable and when he's looking at you, look away, or look boldly back." She waggled her hand. "Ask Tetheus which is better."

"Okay," he mumbled, sipping hot tea out of the cup until he could rescue the spoon without getting burnt.

"If that doesn't work, pretend that Kai-Stern's a girl you really like. Keep her image in your head and think of Kai-Stern as someone to practise all the things you'd like to do to her." She ran her finger along the rim of the cup. "Think about touching the tips of her fingers, or think about them touching you. Every time you need to stoke up the heat between the two of you, imagine the hottest thing that she could possibly do."

"That sounds a little mean." Ruwalk's breathing grew heavy and he blushed.

"Well, you're acting, you don't really like each other," she said, now brushing the cup with a light touch. "It could be worse. Think of the poor sods who actually have to bonk on camera."

"Bonk?" laughed Ruwalk, the colour not fading from his cheeks.

"Don't make fun of me," she said with mock petulance, "or I may write the kiss in faster than usual."

"Okay, I'm sorry," he cried, ducking his head, drinking the tea, then glancing up. "Do you really think that I can pull it off?"

"Gay guys have played straight guys for years." She paused, placing the tea-cup carefully on the table. "We can practise, if you'd like."

oooOOOooo

Rath turned over the final page and sighed. A nasty smirk broke out on Nadil's face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sleek pen. He twisted the top and handed it to Rath, rising slightly from his chair in order to do so.

Rath didn't accept. "I didn't understand any of that," he said. "I'd better take it away and show it to a lawyer."

"I assure you that it's perfectly standard," responded Nadil, proffering the pen again.

oooOOOooo

Alfeegi looked in the mirror again. One of the downsides to having a trainee stylist as a flatmate is your tendency to end up as a guinea pig. A reasonable offer from Ekidonna to dye his hair had first turned it a greenish-blue and led, somehow, to extensions. A spray of artificial hair still languished over the back of the kitchen chair, where Ekidonna had abandoned them when his boyfriend had called around. As he kept saying, it was practically expected that a stylist be gay. Alfeegi wondered if Ruwalk... He shook his head and ran his fingers through the wispy strands at the base of his head. An hour of work had resulted in a long and ratty tail. Ekidonna hadn't even cut the hair to the length he'd promised, before running off.

They were going to make fun of him in the morning.

oooOOOooo

"Should we reschedule the signing until the contracts been thoroughly read?" asked Rath.

"There's no need," answered Nadil, a dark cast appearing in his eyes. "It's a reasonable offer."

Rath thumbed through the heavy contract. "There's a lot of pages there. I'd prefer not to sign until I'm confident in what's written down."

"You must sign now!" hissed Nadil. He glowered at Rath, before pulling on an air of geniality again. "Filming is due to start soon and I am worried about any delay. You do have star billing in the show and we need you to sign today."

"I can't," replied Rath, simply.

"Then I may have to re-think my offer," threatened Nadil.

"That's okay," replied Rath, standing to go. "I've walked away from a career-making role once already, I'll do it again."

oooOOOooo

The studio seemed warmer that day. Ruwalk sweated as the replacement stylist put make-up on his face and sprayed his hair. His fingers twitched every time the brush ran through his hair and he made so many suggestions that Ekidonna lost his deferential tone and told him to just sit still. Ruwalk continued to wince into the mirror and eventually just shut his eyes. In the chair beside him, Kai-Stern kept up a steady patter with Silk, a reporter from the fanzine that Lykouleon was trying to encourage. As soon as Ekidonna finished with the reluctant actor, he left to attend on Raseleane. Silk went with him.

"Are you nervous then?" asked Kai-Stern, elbowing Ruwalk, who jolted upright.

He settled back into his chair before admitting "Yes."

"Me too," said the yaoi fan.

"What?" exclaimed Ruwalk, swivelling his chair around to face his on-screen lover. "I thought that you loved that sort of thing."

Kai-Stern shook his head, then nodded. "I do like the genre - the stories can be so romantic and sweet and I adore working on shonen-ai tales." The usual, distracted, gooey look swept into his eyes. "The energy on set is amazing and it's loads of fun, but I've never starred in any of them." The look swept out again. "I'm not gay myself."

Ruwalk laughed. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Kai sighed and scratched the top of his head. "Sometimes it seems like a betrayal. It sure knocks the stuffing out of the yaoi crew when I rebuff their advances and explain that I'm not actually gay." He swivelled back and forth in his seat. "The yaoi drama scene is a really incestuous one."

"A small group that jumps on fresh blood?" Ruwalk mirrored Kai-Stern's nod. "It's nice to have a break from it, I guess." While he spoke, Ruwalk's fingers crept up to his stiffened hair and his eyes cast about for the makeup kit.

"Yeah." He sighed more theatrically. "If I could sleep with guys then I'd be earning a fortune, but when it comes to yaoi, I'm a strict voyeur."

Ruwalk closed the drawer he'd just opened and paused before replying. "Isn't yaoi a mostly female thing?"

"The manga, yeah," agreed Kai-Stern, "but the television shows hold a huge comfort factor for gay actors. In a profession where you always have to pretend to be something else, finally, they can approach their real selves. It's campy and bitchy, but very warm."

oooOOOooo

As they talked, Lykouleon languished on set, shackled to a fake wall and preparing for his debut. Tetheus was still setting the scene and continually sent Alfeegi out for extra chains and whips. Nohiro and Rune watched from the sidelines while Miyabi cracked the whip for Tetheus's eagle eye.

"Can you hit him just above that spot?" he asked from behind the lens of the camera.

"She's already raised enough welts!" whined Lykouleon, who had a number of red lines across his bare chest.

"Do you want people to laugh at you? Give me suffering," Tetheus scolded. "Try again," he ordered the torturer. The whip cracked across Lykouleon's chest. He struggled against the chains that bound him, but couldn't avoid the blow. "Ouch!"

"Again," ordered the director. "This time don't move so much, Lykouleon. It's okay to struggle, but you upset the camera shot. And try to look more noble."

_Crack._

Nohiro nudged Rune as Lykouleon displayed more and more panic. "It's amazing how real it looks," he said.

"Yes," agreed Rune, snacking on some peanuts and then offering him the bag. "I didn't think that our producer would be able to act, but I guess that Rath had to get his talent from somewhere."

Nohiro took a handful of nuts and started to eat them slowly. He checked that no-one was nearby before whispering softly, "I heard that he's doing it because he loves Raseleane."

Rune giggled. "Oh yes. That's definitely true. At least, Lykouleon's been chasing her. I don't know if it's love yet."

"So is there love in the stars for you and Rath?" The ringer held his breath and waited.

"I hope so," replied Rune, without really thinking. "Although Rath may not realise it for quite some time."

"Then I hope that Rath doesn't come back!" stated Nohiro, emphatically.

Rune started and some of the nuts fell out of the bag. "Why not?" he asked, before picking off the ones that had lodged in his clothing.

"Because if he stays away, then I can have his part and..." he blushed, looking down and squeezing his hands together, "...the love scene."

Rune's eyes flew open. "I didn't realise that you liked..." Nohiro took his hand as he spoke and Rune began to tail off, "...Cesia so much."

"You're so pretty," he said, stroking Rune's palm and tracing gentle paths into it. "I was too shy to tell you before, but if we're going to be working together, then I guess it's best to get it out in the open."

"I'm a guy!" shouted Rune, earning glares from Lykouleon.

"Of course," replied Nohiro with a smirk. "But when they do the big reveal, and show that your slight frame is actually a female one... Have they told you how it's going to happen? Does your shirt get ripped and expose your bound breasts?"

"I'm really a guy," replied Rune, dragging Nohiro away from the cameras and into the shadows. He placed Nohiro's hand onto his chest. "No breasts."

Nohiro felt around, cautiously. "You're a little flat," he said, uncertainly.

"I'm all flat. I'm not a girl. No girl am I," the beautiful boy said, before pushing Nohiro's hands away.

The spurned lover frowned. "Are you sure? I've seen a lot of soap operas and you really look like a girl disguised as a boy. Your hair is far too long and luscious to belong to a man." He fingered a lock of Rune's hair.

"It's a wig," hissed Rune, reaching up and tearing it off. Some of the pins were tightly attached and Ekidonna must have used glue as well, because he winced badly and his scalp was really red in places.

"You're a guy!" exclaimed Nohiro, pointing at him. Rune nodded and Nohiro slowly crumpled onto the ground. "But I really liked you." Rune dithered, but sat beside him and comforted him. Nohiro stiffened, wiped his eyes and looked directly into Rune's. "Maybe I'm gay."

Because Tetheus had taken so long with Lykouleon's torture scene, he sped through the boys' love scene. Raseleane played her heart out as the grieving wife, while Kai-Stern and Ruwalk silently supported each other, holding tight while expounding on the Dragonlord's misfortunes.

With one take deemed sufficient, the on-screen lovers turned to leave, remove their make-up and shower, but Tetheus stopped them. "We still need to film the kiss," he said, while Gow pulled out a still camera and Delte adjusted the lighting to a more intimate level.

"There's no kiss." The words stumbled from Ruwalk. "Not in the script."

Tetheus nodded. "These are publicity photographs. We have to leak them in order to build up the boys' love madness." He jerked a thumb at a staggering Lykouleon, who'd been trying to make it to a comfortable seat since his scene finally ended. "His orders."

"No!" protested Kai-Stern.

"Oh for goodness' sake," Ruwalk said, before grabbing the shorter man about the head and locking lips. The kiss lasted three minutes and twenty four seconds. Silk counted.

oOo

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oOo

_Dragon Knights Sentai _is fanfiction based on the works of Mineko Okhami.

Thanks for reading. I hope you still like it. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button.


	10. Warning

_Anyone who watched rival shows **Dragon Knights Sentai** and **Youkai Sentai** this week was given a shocking treat. The shows have produced a cross-over showing violently different sides to the same story: in one the youkai are sadistic bullies and in the other the dragons are simplistic and dull, moral cowards. I don't know how the two production heads, rumoured to hate each other's guts, ever managed to agree to the storylines, but watch both, for an intriguing and deep look at way fables are presented to us and the truth that moralistic fairytales might gloss over._

_While staunch fans in opposing camps have drawn battle-lines, those who enjoy both shows are overjoyed that the meeting was handled without compromising the spirit of either. Internet forums are abuzz with discussion and the occasional flamewar. I have some hot gossip which will stir the frenzy even further. This is directly from the set of the latest **Dragon Knights** episode, which apparently stars Lykouleon himself as the father of Rath, the Fire Dragon Knight. Lykouleon is the executive producer of the show, the rumoured love interest of Lady Raseleane and the real-life father of Rath... _

Nadil tossed the paper aside, slammed his hands on the table and glared at Fedelta. "He's in it?" he hissed. "It's bad enough that he rewrites the agreed script as much as we did, but he then steals publicity by appearing in the following episode?"

Fedelta shrugged. His hair had suffered from the purchase of a new gel or mousse and it wavered in the air like licks of flame. "It should have gone badly for him. The man's desperate for adulation and this smacks of vanity." Shaking his head caused the loud crackle of an angry fire. "It's a slow week. The newspapers are desperate for something to print."

"Then put me in too," snapped the angry man, throwing scowls like a toddler hungry for sweets throws smiles.

"Sir." Fedelta coughed and started again. "What'll you do with your head? Since the cross-over, we share a continuity with their show and all the youkai side have is a headless corpse."

"Darn him! That bastard planned this all along!" Nadil whacked the table, bruising the wood. "Well, if that man wants to be the talk of the review pages, I'll help him out. Call in every favour we have. I want that show off the air."

oooOOOooo

A sombre mood permeated the conference room where they'd all met for the first time. Cernozura pulled a chair closer to Ruwalk, while Tetheus and Alfeegi discussed some of the classic films they admired. Kai-Stern poured himself a glass of water from the cooler in the corner when Lykouleon walked in, somehow deflated in a navy suit.

"I've got some bad news," he said quietly, walking up to the head of the table and the most comfortable chair. The crew crowded round, Alfeegi and Tetheus abandoning their declaration of independence at the far side of the room and settling into chairs nearer the boss.

"What's wrong?" asked Cernozura, voicing the group's concern.

"The network is talking about dropping the show," replied Lykouleon. "They say that they're nervous of promoting values contrary to accepted norms, but since the entire board is a pack of screaming queers, I'm fairly sure that's not the full story."

He answered the first few comments "Yes, I'm sure" and "No, it's not set in stone, but..." then shut up and let confusion reign. Everyone turned to their neighbour and whispered away, searching for clues from conversations with friends in the know: Kai-Stern and Tetheus argued swiftly; Alfeegi watched them with a stony gaze.

Ruwalk squeezed Cernozura's hand. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Strangely, yes," she replied, brushing newly cut hair out of her face before giving her full attention to him. "We don't get to finish it," her voice was husky, but grew stronger, "but then again, I had no idea how I was going to end the show." She shrugged, her eyes flicking quickly about. "There were a few things that I was toying with, but I guess that rumour and fanfiction will do the job for me."

"I wasn't expecting to wrap up so soon. Packing costumes is always hard after a series, but this?" Ruwalk whispered in a strained voice. "And then the hunt for another job?"

"We'll both find work easily enough," she said, caressing his arm, then moving up to stroke his shoulder. "You're good and a lot of producers know that."

He shook his head in response and the hair dripped off his shoulders. "That's not it," he said. "We won't be working together and I enjoyed that. I really liked working with everyone here; it felt good."

A quiet moment in Tetheus's conversation with Kai-Stern spread that last phrase around the room and they all heaved a sigh.

"I'll try my best to talk them around, or to find a new home for us," Lykouleon said, with a sudden rush of grave resolve. "Let's not give up yet. Don't tell the actors, or crew. Let's continue as though we had the go ahead. It's amber at the moment, not red."

"If worse comes to worse, could we finish the series as a dvd set?" asked Alfeegi. Kai-Stern cheered up and the others looked hopeful.

Lykouleon shook his head. "We'd still need a backer for that and there is none."

"Surely you..." Ruwalk pressed, stopping nervously after those few words.

"My money's already tied up. It'd take months to detangle it and I'd have to get approval from the board of directors. The budget for my hobbies is very limited," he said, with a bitter air. "If this show gets cancelled, any hopes of a long term production budget is sunk along with it."

They moved on to planning the next episode, although it was hard to muster enthusiasm for it. Without Rath and since Thatz had claimed a family emergency, the episode centred about Rune, and details were left entirely up to Cernozura. The group broke and went their separate ways: Ruwalk to his sewing machine; Tetheus and Alfeegi to the editing room; Cernozura to her typewriter and Lykouleon to one of the other meetings that his job as head of the Dragoon Company demanded. Kai-Stern pushed past the editing team to catch up with Lykouleon before he escaped. "Did you ask Raseleane..."

Alfeegi glared at the back of his head, while punching the button for the lift. "Doesn't it make you sick?" he complained to Tetheus.

The director started and looked at him blankly. "What?" he asked.

The doors slid open and they stepped inside. Alfeegi punched the button for their floor, just as hard as he'd hit the call button. "This... Now... After all the stress and short notice and violence to our lives, we've finally got everything sorted, have a good working relationship and are on top of all our problems. When everything's going smoothly, we're being rejected." The doors opened onto an empty floor and Alfeegi whacked the buttons again. "That's so inconsiderate," he moaned.

"I guess," Tetheus responded.

Alfeegi turned on him. "You guess?" he asked, the doors closing again and trapping the two together. "You guess? You love this show. I know you do. You've poured so much into it and have worked so damn hard for it and you guess that it being cancelled is a bad thing?"

Tetheus stayed dumb as the tirade continued.

"Shout, scream, get angry. Throw things at Lykouleon. Why don't you say something? How can you not be angry?"

When he finally spoke, it was with a quiet voice. "I have an ulcer. Anger could kill me," he said, with eyes firmly on the brightly illuminated floor numbers as they cycled downwards. "I'm on a diet of enforced yoga, natural yoghurt and no booze."

"That's no life for anyone." Alfeegi twitched, his hands and fingers unsure what to do. "There are better ways to cope with stress, with life, than pretending that it doesn't affect you."

"I worry about you," replied Tetheus. "I see a lot of your anger and outbursts burning holes inside you like the ones in me. Every time you scream and fall to the floor, I wonder if the pain is physical as well as mental and whether you're taking something to hide it and get you through the day."

"Don't worry about me," Alfeegi said, smiling up at his friend, as though the sun had broken through a storm. "As soon as I feel in the slightest bit stressed, I get rid of it."

Tetheus frowned.

"That's what shouting at Kai-Stern is for!"

oooOOOooo

Despite her words, the episode she was penning took a melancholy route, emphasizing the danger and loneliness of working alone, especially for one who was arguably the weakest member of the troupe. In a stark effort to add some comic relief, Cernozura wrote in an unrequited admirer for the troubled water knight, but she couldn't stop the tone from getting darker.

oooOOOooo

It was hard to keep the worry from their faces. An odd vibe spread through the shoot, with frequent frowns thrown at the production team, although no-one asked the question. Alfeegi wished that someone would. He knew that he couldn't keep the secret in and that one blunt question would burst his banks and reveal the deceit. He didn't like to keep things on simmer. Alfeegi's way was a volatile one.

Surprisingly, the muted atmosphere added to the shoot. The general air of the script was one of melancholy and Rune was the perfect star to carry the tone. Thatz's clowning would have detracted from it and Rath's anger would have diluted it.

The entire episode was scheduled to be shot indoors, as if the staff were afraid to venture out of the studio. Even Kai-Stern was grounded and had subbed in as Alfeegi's helper and assistant set designer.

Alfeegi's phone went off during a take on the final scene. He grinned sheepishly and ran out of boom reach to answer it. Tetheus glared after him as he ordered a reset and the actors and cameramen struggled to find their marks. They ran through the lines and had almost completed a perfect take, when Alfeegi blundered into shot. He waved at the others to be quiet, oblivious to their concern, before sticking his finger in his ear to drone out their moans and hisses. Curious, the cast snuck closer in an effort to hear the other side of the conversation. Alfeegi said little.

Finally, he hit the button to disconnect the call. His hands were shaking and the crowd drew closer. "That's it," he said. "_Best of Barnstormers_ is being aired tonight and for the next few weeks until they get another series to replace us. The last episode shown will be the crossover. We've been cancelled."

oOo

* * *

oOo

_Dragon Knights Sentai _is fanfiction based on the works of Mineko Okhami.

Thanks for reading. I hope you still like it. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button. I love Alfeegi and Tetheus's conversation in the lift. It just seems very real to me.


	11. Limping Along

It wasn't over yet. _Dragon Knights Sentai_ still had an operating budget, and while there was money left in the kitty and a bankroll for his staff, Lykouleon kept the production running. The show limped on as he pleaded with bankers, backers and hardcore fans. Everyone economised: the locations budget was cut to places within walking distance; Ruwalk resewed old costumes and tried to drum up sponsorship from an Olde-World medieval costume shop; the crew conserved film; the actors stopped deliberately spoiling takes; and Thatz ate smaller lunches.

Absolutely everyone wondered if there was any point.

oooOOOooo

The boy coughed. It gave him something to do so he tried it a few more times. He followed up with a bout of pacing and then ruffled his black hair, exposing dark roots at the base of his white streak, before settling down on one of the black leather couches.

The lobby of the apartment building was quite imposing and reminded him of Lykouleon's office. The doorman flicked his eyes over the lad regularly and the boy could see the wheels turning in his head as he registered the boy's description in his memory, in case he had to give evidence for a robbery, assault or intimidation. It wasn't very welcoming, but the subject of his attention cooled his heels and waited.

He was finally rewarded when a man in a severe suit and open-toed sandals walked in through the revolving doors.

"Tetheus! Sir," he shouted, jumping to his feet.

Tetheus turned to him, eyebrows rising as he recognised the young man.

"Can I have a moment of your time, please?" he asked the director.

"What's this about?" Tetheus asked. Drawing closer, the young boy could see dark lines under his eyes and faint wrinkles on his usually smooth brow.

"I turned Nadil down," responded the boy. "Please, sir. I want to come back."

Tetheus froze. As he unthawed, his hand reached into a pocket and pulled out his mobile phone. He ushered the lad to the lift doors as he placed the same call to Cernozura, then Lykouleon, Alfeegi and the legal department of Dragoon Pictures. What he said was terse and left no room for a response: "He's back."

oooOOOooo

There were three shocks for crew arriving on set the following day. The first was a new script (still moist from Cernozura's sweat and tears, no blood though), with blank pages indicating further modifications to be made. The second was the apparent reappearance of Rath: a scene celebrating Rune's safe return clearly name-checked the Fire Dragon Knight. The third arrived mid-afternoon.

Fevered film-makers didn't notice anything unusual about the bundled-up figure asking directions to wardrobe and just sent him on his way before eagerly returning to their very important work. He barged into a cluttered room with ripped up costumes covering every chair, table and hook and Ruwalk in the centre, recycling cloth from the old outfits to use in new ones. He looked up when the door opened. Glitter and sequins drowned in a large blob of glue on his cheek - he obviously hadn't noticed it, or that the ends of his hair had gotten dipped in fabric paint.

"I was told to come here for a fitting," said the figure, unravelling the scarf from about his head and revealing a mane of bushy, violet hair.

"Gil?" rasped Ruwalk. He coughed, spitting out a few stray sequins.

Gil nodded and peeled off his bulky, winter coat. "I need a wardrobe befitting a Fire Dragon Knight."

Ruwalk rose from his chair, touched his face and then ran his fingers through his hair, inadvertently spreading the gooey and sparkly mess further.

"Step into my office," he said, pointing to a patch of ground while deftly hooking a tape-measure around his neck. "I'll take down your measurements and we'll see what we can do for you."

oooOOOooo

An obnoxious smell assaulted the nose of Cernozura as she snuck into the studio by the back door. Pinching it closed, she bumped into Tetheus who was sniffing and pacing in the corridor there. "Here you go," she said, handing over a sheaf of loose pages. Tetheus skimmed through them and grunted.

"How good are your ears?" he whispered while his eyes frantically scanned the pages.

"What?" she asked. He turned onto a new page and shushed her. He then jerked his head towards a side door, which was usually kept open.

Cernozura crept closer to it and peeked through the narrow window. She could see Lykouleon in animated conversation, but he stood between her and whoever he was talking to. Something cold touched her hand and she jerked away from the door to see Tetheus holding out a drinking glass.

"The door's locked," he whispered, offering her the glass and then returning to his reading.

She took it and holding it up to her ear, pressed it against the door. She felt the vibration of a drill being used outside and heard a low rumbling that could have been the power generator suffering from the requirements of its daily grind, but although she caught a word here and there, she couldn't make sense of Lykouleon's conversation with his mystery friend.

She returned the glass to Tetheus with a shrug. He nodded, waved the papers at her and gave a thumb's up. Free of contractual obligations, she made her way to wardrobe where she found Kai-Stern applying some foul liquid onto a cloth which he then rubbed on Ruwalk's hair.

"Why don't you just cut it out?" he asked grumpily, scouring away.

"I'm not cutting my hair," replied Ruwalk. He winced as Kai-Stern gave him an unkind tug. "Is it working? Is it coming off?"

"I don't know," Kai-Stern said, stopping work to pull at the damp patch of hair. "I think so. The strands are nearly coming apart, but Ruwalk, I think it might be bleaching your hair."

"That's all I need," sighed the designer.

"Can I help?" interrupted Cernozura, waving as they noticed her. Ruwalk started and Kai-Stern ran up to her and pressed a cloth and a bottle into her hands. "Thanks, Cernozura. I've got a lot of running around to do. Busy, busy, busy."

"Hey!" shouted Ruwalk after him. "Don't leave me..."

Kai-Stern stuck out his tongue and fled, leaving poor Ruwalk alone with Cernozura.

"Did I interrupt...?" she asked, awkwardly squashing the cloth in her hands.

Ruwalk sighed. "I'd just hoped to be finished before I saw you. That's all," he said. He reached out for her hand and gave it a good squeeze.

"Oh, well." She stepped closer and took a good look at Ruwalk's hair. A glob of _something_ had been caught in it and stuck several locks together in a sparkly, hard, yet pliable mess. "Oh my," she gasped. "Did one of the knights do this to you?"

"No," muttered Ruwalk, miserably. "It was an accident."

"But..." she started.

"All self-inflicted," he moaned, sinking into his seat.

Cernozura frowned but asked nothing. Instead she reached forward with the cloth, stopping before it touched the mess. She turned it over and rubbed it gently. "It's dry!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, nail varnish remover evaporates quickly. I think that's what drove Kai-Stern mad." Ruwalk reached up a shaking hand to feel out the damage. His fingers flitted over and over the damaged area.

"Sure that you don't want to cut it out?" She teased the glued hair away from the scalp, until it stuck out from his head at an angle. "There's a lot of glue still in there," she muttered as she looked it over.

Ruwalk grabbed his hair, leaned back and stared up at her, coldly. "Do you want a bald ...?" His mouth kept working after the words stopped coming out. He stuck his head back down.

"Okay," she said, pouring more remover onto the sparkly cloth. "Let's try this again." She started to hum as she went to work. "You know, a nice hot bath might loosen it up and it might stop your hair absorbing the acetone."

"Absorbing the acetone?" he echoed, his back stiffening and jerking the hair out of her hands.

"It could wind up smelling like this for days," she mused, ministering to his beleaguered locks once more.

"A bath, eh?" he said.

"Try to finish up before seven," she said, pouring the nail-varnish remover directly onto his hair and using the cloth to clean off the dissolving glue. "Do you have any brushes that you don't mind destroying?"

"Why before seven?" he asked, pointing to Ekidonna's bag.

"I have tickets for a concert tonight and I was hoping that you'd go with me. Do you want to?" She pawed through the bag until she found a suitable brush. "It's a three piece jazz band. They're supposed to be quite good."

He shook his head with a wry grin. "What if I can't get this stuff out of my hair?"

Cernozura looked around at the boxes, drawers and wardrobes that cluttered the room. "There's bound to be at least one hat in here, right?"

"They're not in style at the moment, though. Would you be willing to offend some bohemian swingers with an out-of-date date?" His fingers tapped out a zealous rhythm on the table and the twist left his smile.

Cernozura nodded. "Of course," she blurted, five seconds later.

oooOOOooo

A hush spread over the rickety papier-mâché mountain top where Rath faced his father. A cold breeze, propelled by giant paper fans operated by a sweating Alfeegi and Kai-Stern, swirled through the set, ruffling Rath's hair and rippling the folds on the Dragonlord's open shirt.

"You always hated me!" shouted Rath. A young man wearing headphones by a monitor winced at the volume.

"No," gasped Lykouleon, his voice trembling. "I had more to worry about than you, but Rath, you were always first in my thoughts."

"How touching!" A new figure came into shot above them. He crawled, head-first, down onto a styrofoam rock and sneered as Alfeegi's breeze drifted up to sweep the violet hair from his face, exposing the scar on his eye. "I like family reunions. You two should really make up before I kill you."

"Have you suddenly learned how to use that goblin-sticker on your hip, Gil?" spat Rath, before falling into his customary attack pose. "I am the Fire Dragon Knight and I'll burn you to a crisp."

"Rath!" shouted Lykouleon, clutching his side and leaning heavily against a solid-looking mountain-side. "Wait. You're not the Fire Dragon Knight!"

"Interesting," hissed Gil, leaping down to a lower rock with a hollow sounding boom. "Do tell."

Lykouleon ignored him, staring only at Rath. Urged on by his director, Kai-Stern put his back into it and Lykouleon shivered in the stronger wind. "When you were small, you stole the Fire Dragon and bound it to you."

Rath glowered. "Now you're calling me a thief, old man!" he yelled, storming up to his father. Lykouleon winced and wrapped his arms around himself.

He then shook his head. "It was my fault; I took something that was important to you and you tried to replace it."

Rath frowned. The fans whipped up stray dust and stage dirt and whirled it in the space between them. The Dragonlord posed manfully and his knight turned his sword upside down and thrust it into the studio floor. Alfeegi smouldered, his muscles aching, as Rath crossed his arms and waited. Gil merely shrugged, losing patience with the family drama unfolding beneath him.

"Believe me, my need was great," pleaded Lykouleon.

His son took a step closer, then his shoulders crumpled and he looked sadly behind him. He reached out to his proud sword. "Then who is Fire's true master?"

Alfeegi's breeze faltered when Rath grabbed the sword again and held it aloft. All three actors stared at the naked steel, as though an insubstantial tongue of flame leapt from it. They watched as it spiralled upwards, weaving sinuously through the air until it circled around and around Gil, imprisoning him in a tight leash.

"It's Gil," sighed Lykouleon, collapsing to the ground. Rath rushed forward; Gil remained transfixed by invisible flame.

"Rath, this belongs to you." Lykouleon clawed at the air, eventually grabbing Rath's hand and holding tight. He rose up again, arched his back and thrust his chest into the air with a loud groan. "This is Deus: he's the Dragon of Light. Take care of him, Rath. He kept me alive."

He went limp and Rath dropped to his knees, scooping his father up in his arms before he'd even stopped falling. "No, father. You keep him. You need him."

The Dragonlord opened his eyes. "My time has passed. You are the future. I'm sorry, my son."

The cameras panned away from the tableau, up to the third actor in the scene. "I'm a knight?" breathed Gil. He span around and around, dancing in a strange glow that was neatly provided by Delte and a large spotlight with a colour filter.

"Yes!" shouted Rath, startling Gil and regaining his attention. "And your lord is dying."

Gil hopped off his rock, landed gently beside the other two and glanced at Lykouleon.

"Can you carry him?" he asked. Rath nodded. "If we hurry, he might be okay."

They held their poses until Tetheus yelled "CUT! Are we good?" Various heads nodded. "Print that and let's move onto the next scene. Good work, everyone."

oOo

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oOo

_Dragon Knights Sentai _is fanfiction based on the works of Mineko Okhami.

Thanks for reading. I hope you still like it. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button. If you spot any typos, speak up.


	12. Season Finale

There is an epilogue, but this is where the story ends. Thanks to everyone who's read and especially everyone who's reviewed. I hope you enjoy it.

oOo

* * *

oOo

The pool of red seeped into the porous ground and stained the delicate silks of their clothing. Ruwalk rocked back and forth, cradling a lifeless body in his arms. Great, blubbery tears dripped down onto Kai-Stern's face, diluting the blood and revealing an ugly wound. A keening cry arose as the grieving man pressed his lips to the blemished skin. Mist descended. The light dimmed and a fuzzy, grey cylinder dipped into view.

Tetheus sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingers. "Cut and reset," he called.

"Let's hurry," said Ruwalk, dropping Kai-Stern to the ground. The corpse rubbed his backside with a weary grin while Ruwalk examined his shirt. "These stains are hard to get out when they dry."

"Why are we killing me off again?" asked Kai-Stern, pouting slightly. "I thought that I was a fan-favourite."

The crew hustled around the set, resetting the lighting levels and soaking up the bloody water. Ruwalk and Kai-Stern stripped and redressed in identical clothing handed to them by Salazar, although Ruwalk wouldn't hand over his trousers until she'd repeated the care instructions that he'd given her.

Moments later, Kai-Stern died all over again.

oooOOOooo

Face freshly scrubbed and scar free, the former corpse stepped outside and lit up. He blew solitary smoke into the cool air and mused on the quirks of life, at least until his weeping widow joined him.

"Brooding?" asked Ruwalk, leaning against the wall and trying to inhale some of the smoke second-hand.

"Hmm?" mumbled Kai-Stern, still lost in his day-dream.

"You were canned," pointed out the stylist.

"That's true," admitted Kai-Stern, taking another puff. "It was nice to act again, but working behind the scenes is less injurious to your ego." He realised that the cigarette had burned down to the filter and stubbed it out on the wall, before letting it drop. "As long as I'm not Alfeegi's monkey for the rest of the series."

The studio door clanged open as a hot-headed young man ran out, pursued by an earnest young lady. Kai-Stern coughed and spluttered. Ruwalk grinned. "My guess is that he's just finished reading his next scene."

"Shocking is it?" asked Kai-Stern, standing on the butt and grinding it in.

"For a boy of his age, it is," replied Ruwalk, watching the pair race through the grounds.

"Cesia'll turn him around," muttered Kai-Stern, turning away from the furious flight and huddling closer to the wall. "He's not so young any more."

"Are you sure?" asked Ruwalk, as Rath dodged in and out of buildings and Cesia gave chase across open ground.

"You'd be surprised. He's matured. Didn't you notice Gil wandering about on set?" asked Kai-Stern, shivering as a cold wind blew through his light clothing. He nodded at the couple; Cesia closing in. "I've watched over that boy for most of his life. I even grew up for him."

Ruwalk started, his head jerking from Kai-Stern to Rath and back again. "You grew up for him?"

Kai-Stern lit up another cigarette. "When I stood up for him in church, that was my first day sober in several years."

"You weren't drunk?" gasped Ruwalk, in mock surprise.

"Not noticeably so," admitted Kai-Stern. "It was easy then - drink less on those rare occasions where I might have to hold him. It grew harder as he got older and I had to put in a lot more effort."

Ruwalk stared out over the grounds. "I don't think that I could have managed him as well as you."

"It should have been you. Everyone knew it - you were Lykouleon's closest friend." He turned to Ruwalk to get a measure of his response.

Ruwalk remained as he was, looking out at nothing. "At the time, myself and our lord and master weren't talking. I'd done something that he profoundly disagreed with."

"Ah, well," said Kai-Stern, with another puff. "It didn't work out too badly for me. I'm not ashamed to say it, but if it wasn't for that boy, I don't know where I'd be today."

Ruwalk nodded and caught another whiff of smoke. "No-one expected you to take your responsibilities so seriously."

"Least of all me." Kai-Stern stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette. Meanwhile, Cesia infiltrated a dark corner. The two men pretended not to notice as Rath stuck his head out, then ducked back in. "Rath's done it again. Time to grow up a little more."

"What?" asked Ruwalk, casting a glance at the dark corner that held both fugitive and hound.

"Dump the twins. Going out with two women like them was fun, but the whole thing just seems a little childish."

He pretended not to notice the blush that spread across Ruwalk's face by pulling out his pack of cigarettes and counting those remaining. He put them away again. "Going back in?" Ruwalk nodded and he moved toward the door. He paused, with his hand on it. "I think that I might make an honest woman of Delte. I reckon that she has a fancy for me."

Ruwalk paused in turn. "Maybe you're right." His phone rang as soon as they stepped inside. He checked the number before answering. "Hey, Cernozura! Are we still on for tonight?"

Kai-Stern waited for him while they talked.

"You should be proud of her." Kai-Stern grinned when the conversation ended and Ruwalk rejoined him.

The stylist raised his eyebrows and gestured. "Go on."

"I heard back from my friend," he replied, mysteriously.

"Your friend?"

He smirked again. "A producer. He makes films and was looking for a new writer. They had a brief chat and he asked me for some of the tapes of this series. We watched them a few days ago at my place. He was pretty impressed and really wants to work with her!"

"Wow, films?" Ruwalk started laughing. "Wow. That's great... Wait." He turned to Kai-Stern and motioned him away from the set. "This producer friend of yours," he whispered. "Does he do yaoi films?"

"Yes," said Kai-Stern. Ruwalk blanched and he blurted out "but she can handle it. She got us to fall in love, didn't she?" Ruwalk nodded and the tension eased out of him. "Don't worry about her. All we have to worry about is getting roles in the production. I can introduce you to him, if you'd like."

"No thanks," demurred Ruwalk. "I have some dreams of my own to chase first."

oooOOOooo

Lykouleon sat in his large, empty office, cradling his head in his hands to stop it banging against the table. Scattered under him were a variety of financial reports, all showing that there was a big fat zero in the bank account of the production company.

"There's not even enough to cover wages for another week," he moaned, pushing himself back up and then scanning the reports again. He sighed and cast an eye to the window. The view was truly fantastic with the entire city ranged before him, all the way to the sea. He heaved himself to his feet and moved closer, butting the glass with his head, before stretching himself against it, the cold piercing into his skin at the wrists. "I've had a good life," he said, looking down now. His office was on the second-highest floor and he always got vertigo when he did that. Couldn't stop himself, though. "There's only one thing to do. I love making television and I can't imagine giving that up."

He spun around and marched back five steps. Turning once more to stare determinedly at the window, he grasped the phone from his desk and hit the direct line to his secretary. "Kitchel?" he said. "Ring my broker and tell him that I need one hundred thousand by the end of the week. Tell him to use his discretion and that he can cash in the blue chips if he wants." Call complete, he slammed down the phone and pulled the file-o-fax closer. He span it, enjoying the whir, before plucking out the business card that Raseleane had pressed on him a year ago at a party.

"It's for the show," he stated, taking a deep breath before calling the number printed on it.

"Hyper-mega Management, how may I direct your call?" Business-like and utterly professional, the receptionists at Hyper-mega Management often cowed their callers.

"This is Lykouleon from Dragoon Pictures calling personally. I want to speak to Barl."

He hummed along with the music-on-hold until it cut off and the receptionist spoke again, "I'm afraid that he's out of the office, sir. Can I take a message for him?"

"That's unacceptable. Place me through to his mobile, please."

He sang a trifle louder this time, until Barl's voice called out on a patchy line. "Lykouleon? What can I do for you?"

"The show's in trouble, Barl." Lykouleon sat on his desk and flipped the catch on his cigar box.

"So I've noticed. _Dragon Knights_ hasn't been on recently. Are you having problems?" Barl's voice was completely neutral, as usual.

"Raseleane's having problems." He set his face and closed the lid again.

"She hasn't said anything to me about difficulties on set. I can talk to her."

"No, Barl. This is your problem to deal with."

"Raseleane's a big star, Lykouleon. If the show's not on the air, I don't think that she can go on making episodes with you. There are venues that want her to sing, TV producers with shows that are actually on air, begging to interview..."

"Yeah, you told me how big she was. 'An idol' - those were your words weren't they?"

"Raseleane's the greatest. Everyone loves her."

"Then why has her acting debut sunk?"

There was silence on the other side of the line.

"Stars like Raseleane can't afford flops, Barl. I brought her on-board because you assured me that she was a big-time draw. You loved the idea, you needed another string to her bow, you needed the show and you told me that with her in it, it could only be successful. I love the girl. She is wonderful and beautiful and talented, but her name isn't pulling the weight that it should. Raseleane's first show - if it is to be the first of many - must be a roaring success."

"I see."

Lykouleon let him hang for a moment, before ploughing on.

"The show's cancelled. I haven't found another buyer yet, but the network's not tangling me up with red tape. I can take it somewhere else, if another station's willing to show it."

"And what do you want me to do?"

"Use some of the clout you promised me. Talk to the names in your address book - the lovely people who eat all your food at your launch parties. Find Raseleane's number one fan and sell the show. Sell Raseleane. Save the show and save her career from an embarrassing failure."

"What about you?"

"I'll plug away at the networks."

"Okay," he said, signing on. "I'll start ringing around and I'll call you when I get a feel for who we should be putting pressure on. I have some contacts at your current network, so I'll start there."

"You should know getting a show on the air requires more than simply making a good show. It requires politics."

"Sometimes threats of violence?" Barl mused.

"I already said politics, didn't I?"

Lykouleon worked on, into the night. Finally, he got a phone call with some useful titbits. It was from an old acquaintance, who cultivated other acquaintances with a lot of disgruntled people. It started "_Arinas Titles_ is trying to keep this a secret, but the host of _Barnstorming _was arrested for lewd behaviour in a public place last week..."

All he needed then was an ending.

oooOOOooo

Her leg twitched as Cernozura mulled it over. She leaned back in the conference room chair, the faces of the others barely visible in the darkened room. The light from the projector illuminated Ruwalk as he paced back and forth, the film long since over. She looked across at Kai-Stern and Lykouleon. "The down-side to making things up as you go along is not being able to pull everything together at the end," she said. "Look at what we've done recently: one of our leads wandered off, there was a gay kiss..."

"I hate the fact that he edited that into the show," muttered Kai-Stern, casting pointed looks at Lykouleon who feigned ignorance.

Cernozura continued, "An important character died, with pathos. What can we do to end it?"

"Rocks fall, everyone dies?" suggested Kai-Stern, shrugging his shoulders and falling back under the scorn heaped on him.

"Lazy and unsatisfying," commented Lykouleon. "There needs to be a major threat, a big plot, something huge."

"We should really have planned this months ago," moaned Ruwalk, pausing in his pacing. "The ending should have been considered before we'd plotted the first episode."

"Too late to focus on that," said Lykouleon. He stretched out his neck and shoulder muscles. "We just need the hook to start. How can we build a finale? What concept is good enough to repay all of our fans?"

Cernozura rocked back and forth in the unyielding chair. "Who has been the greatest threat in the show?" she asked. "What has sparked dread and panic? Who is evil enough to end the series? Who do the fans want to know more about?"

"Kharl!" said Kai-Stern. "He's still the greatest mystery and a fantastic actor to boot. He'll take whatever concept we come up with and turn it to gold."

Lykouleon frowned. "Kharl," he muttered. "He's been a useful villain and we still don't know his motives: he may be pure evil, or he could be more cat-like, off doing whatever amuses him."

Cernozura nodded. "I don't think that the character, flighty as he is, can pull off the kind of ending we need. Maybe in a second series. He'd need more of a build-up to ultimate evil than we'd be able to give him in just one episode."

"The twins?" suggested Ruwalk.

"Nuh-uh," she shook her head and pulled her chair closer to the table. "We need a clincher." She squeezed herself even tighter. "We need Nadil."

"But he's just a head." Kai-Stern's mouth bobbed open, while Lykouleon cocked his head to the side and leaned forward.

"Even dead he's powerful. If we could... bring him back to life... or something."

"Nadil is the overwhelming and malevolent evil of the series," the producer muttered. "I'd kind of forgotten about him. The head would presumably be locked up in the castle's vaults. We can cut scenes of it glowing, or looming ominously into the episodes that haven't aired yet ."

Ruwalk pulled up a chair and joined the others. "So he's revived and he... attacks the palace? Kidnaps Raseleane? Steals a mcguffin?"

"Nadil is a golden idea, but there's something quite important that we're missing," interrupted Kai-Stern, with a sick look on his face. "We'll never be able to hire someone to play Nadil. No jobbing actor will risk annoying a producer, especially one with a temper like his."

"One of us would have to do it," agreed Ruwalk, "but I can't see anyone pulling off an evil villain."

"Tetheus," snapped Kai-Stern straight away. He looked at the rest of the group. "What? We're all thinking it."

"Do you want to be the one to ask him?" asked Ruwalk. The assistant production manager turned to Lykouleon who was stroking his chin.

"Hmm. Rath can do it."

"Rath?"

"He was off-screen for a few episodes. If he's possessed or something, then it'd almost seem like we meant it."

"Possessed Rath, in a vicious battle with Rune and Thatz?" suggested Cernozura, feverishly scribbling away.

"Oh yeah. And he wants to kill Cesia. We have to stick the scene for everything that we can get. This is our closer, it has to be good. Fans will want Rath to live, but not at the apparent cost."

"Do we kill him off?" asked Ruwalk, quietly.

"Maybe we should."

All heads turned to Lykouleon.

oooOOOooo

Rath paused before the great, vaulted doors. A pair of running feet could be heard growing louder and he loosed his sword from its scabbard, before turning around to face the threat.

"Oh, it's you two." He smiled as he put his sword away. Rune and Thatz did not return the gesture, instead advancing on their friend.

"We were worried about you, Rath," said Thatz, taking slow steps toward one of his best friends. "You were acting so strangely and we walked on egg shells for weeks, thinking it was all down to the shock. You found out that Lykouleon was your dad and that he was still alive and then Kai-Stern died..."

"Then we found Alfeegi," added Rune, circling Rath, so that he would be caught between the other two knights.

"What happened to him?" The other knights didn't respond and he grew agitated. "Hey, you know that I don't like the guy, but I wouldn't do anything to hurt him."

"Rath wouldn't, _Nadil_!" hissed Thatz, jumping into the air and swinging his sword behind his head in preparation for a chop.

Rath blocked it easily and parried another assault from Rune. "Guys! What are you doing? It's me, Rath. Stop it!"

"We found Alfeegi's body and we realised that whoever killed Kai-Stern had struck again," Rune said, his voice choking up. "Cesia's prophecy suddenly became obvious. It was you. You killed Kai-Stern."

He laughed and the injured expression on his face twisted into a sneer. "First, I'm going to kill you two. Then I'm going to finish strangling the fortune-teller. I'll burst open these doors and take what's mine and if I have to kill my future wife's late husband first, so be it."

"You'll have to take us down first."

"Didn't you listen to step number one?"

Rath lunged at Thatz and the Earth Knight jumped back to avoid the attack. He landed awkwardly on a pile of rags, fell backward and rolled to his feet. He aimed a kick at the rags to get them out of his way. The bundle rolled over, revealing a face: it was Cesia, deathly pale and with ugly bruises on her neck. "Rune!" yelled Thatz. "Get over here and help Cesia!"

He leaped over her prone body and lashed into Rath, while his colleague fell back to the injured fortune-teller. He started chanting as soon as he saw her and laid his fingers lightly upon her throat.

Rath was pushed back by the ferocity of Thatz's attack. Although he was hard pressed to block each slash and chop, the smirk never faded from his face. When Thatz pressed him up to the wall of the chamber, he sneered at the valiant knight. "Getting tired yet?"

Thatz glanced back at Rune; Cesia was stirring, but still looked weak. Rune looked up and nodded. He gently laid Cesia on the ground and stepped over her, before circling around to attack Rath from his blind side. The evil murderer blasted Thatz with a burst of dark energy and began his own tricky footwork, weaving away from the anxious knights and ensuring that only one could attack him at any given time.

The warring knights danced in and out of the marble columns that held up the vaulted roof of the chamber. Neither side could gain an advantage until finally Rath found himself boxed into a corner.

"Rune," called the Earth Dragon Knight, steeling himself as he looked on his former ally. "Is this it?"

Rune nodded, still breathing heavily from the fight.

Thatz called again. "I don't think that I can do it," he said. "This is Rath! He's saved my life over and over."

"You can't think like that. It's Nadil. He's killed Kai-Stern and Alfeegi. He'll kill everyone if we let him get away."

"But what if Rath's still in there? What if he can hear us and feel what's going on? What if there's a chance that he'll come back?"

"Then we have to kill him. We risk too much if we don't. If Rath's inside that monster, then he's urging us to end it now."

Thatz turned aside, tears dripping onto the ground. Rune raced to his side, desperate to save him from Rath's impending attack, an attack that Thatz appeared oblivious to. Rath was closer and he kept his eyes and smirk firmly on Rune as he jumped, landed behind Thatz and thrust his sword directly at Thatz's heart. His grin faded when Thatz whirled out of the way. His face paled as Thatz knocked his sword aside and his eyes glazed over as Thatz slid his blade into Rath's stomach and jerked it upwards. Rune skidded to a halt. Rath crumpled onto Thatz's shoulder, as though being comforted, while red blobs dropped onto the floor between them.

A dark mist rose from his body. It grew more solid in the air, drawing darker energy out of the body, until the corpse collapsed onto the ground. The mist shrank, gaining solidity, and twisted until Nadil's profile could be clearly seen, grinning down at Rath. It warped again, into the form of a bird - dissolving at the edges - and flew out through a closed, glass window, leaving it whole.

"Now, Rune!" screamed Cesia, somehow back on her feet. She lifted up a heavy staff and an aching beam of light arced from it to the Water Dragon Knight. He sank to his feet, thrust his hand over Rath's wound and started to whisper.

Barnstorming was arrested for lewd behavious in a public place, so it's off the air and we're back on." The crew started cheering and Lykouleon nodded and lapped it up like the ringleader in a circus. "This is our shot," continued the producer. "We need to rack up the tension and force them to keep us on the air, right up to the very end." The crew cheered again, but Lykouleon quietened them with a frown. "It's important that we get this right. Let's really stick it to Nadil."

oooOOOooo

_Tonight sees the return of **Dragon Knights** to our screens. Because of the idiots over at the network, we've had the execrable **Best of Barnstorming** on our screens for the past few weeks. Thankfully, the campaign led by our loyal readers appears to have born fruit. Articles in an unofficial fanzine hint at a number of exciting and provocative storylines... _

Nadil crumpled up the newspaper and threw it against the wall. With a roar, he over-turned his desk. The tremendous crash rumbled through the floor and drew an anxious Saabel inside. Nadil turned on him, eyes flaming.

oooOOOooo

For the final episode of the season, everyone that didn't have to hold a camera, boom or push a button, dressed in costume and piled onto set for the crowd scene. Tetheus lined up beside Alfeegi and Ruwalk, just behind Raseleane and Lykouleon. Gil lurked nearby, while Kai-Stern hid in the back, wearing a wig and with his hand discreetly stroking Delte's back.

Rath looked out over the backdrop, a beautifully painted scene of the Dragoon countryside. "Nadil is defeated, but not destroyed." He looked backwards at Rune and Thatz, who stood with him on the battlements, before nobly scouring the middle distance again. "The best we can say is that there is hope, for now."

oOo

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oOo

Well that was long. I hope that the ending was worth the read. Thanks for sticking with it all the way. There is an epilogue to come and another writer has been given permission to base her own story on the happenings and ideas in this one. Good luck, Cairnsy. I look forward to reading it.

_Dragon Knights Sentai _is fanfiction based on the works of Mineko Okhami.

Thanks for reading. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button. If you spot any typos, speak up.


	13. Epilogue: A Cold Autumn

Tetheus shivered beneath his warm, woolen coat. The wind in this part of town had its own quirks and seemed to change direction on a whim. He hadn't lived here since his parents died and he'd never thought that he'd ever miss it. It's funny what things can hold memories for you.

He looked up at the street sign on the corner _Hedgemont Villas_. He opened his coat, wincing as the cold wind delved deeper into his clothing. In his inside pocket was the clipping that Alfeegi had pressed onto him with the details of a house for sale and forced him to agree to view. He hadn't said why it was so important that Tetheus had to cut short his morning-after lie in and the director had no idea why he was standing in the coldest part of town, with his breath freezing as it streamed from his mouth, even though he was perfectly happy renting a loft apartment. Alfeegi hadn't complained about it before. If he really cared about it that much, why hadn't Alfeegi come along and given a second opinion. Maybe Tetheus could just go back and say that the place had damp rot, or something. The houses looked pretty old, after all.

Despite himself, he walked down the road, eyeing the terrace houses. Strangely, this street began with number _24_ and went up. Maybe this was a surprise bit of urban planning - houses _1_ to _23_ could be half a mile away, or perhaps they'd been knocked down to build one of the apartment blocks that bookended the street. He counted as he went. House _25_ had an art-lover living there, judging by the hideous sculptures proudly littering the garden. House _29_ banged out rock music. House _32_ was infested with cats, some of them wearing ear plugs and looking disdainfully down the road. Number _36_ was familiar. He looked at the scrap of newspaper in his numb hand. This was it.

He opened the tiny gate, small enough to step over. As he expected, it squeaked. The garden stole his breath. The work wasn't finished; there were a few empty beds still awaiting plants - blue if he remembered correctly - and the witch hazel in the centre was far too small, but he could see what it would be, given a few years. He puzzled over it as he walked up the path - the wrong kind of stone was used, but a bit of weathering and a few years of grime and it wouldn't be noticeable. The number beside the door was hand-painted, rather than cut into the stone, but Tetheus traced his fingers over the numbers, exactly the way he used to, while he waited for the door to open.

The doorbell was answered by a completely surprising figure. He looked strangely normal with his hair tied back and wearing ordinary jeans and a sweatshirt, but Tetheus recognised one half of Nadil's twisted twin stars immediately.

"Yes?" scowled Shydeman, before noticing the newspaper clutched between Tetheus's fingers. "Ah, you have to ring the estate agents before you can look over the house. It's not ready yet." He glanced over his shoulder and muttered to himself. "I guess it can't hurt to show you around. We're not too untidy today." He stepped aside to let Tetheus in, closed the door and locked it, before taking his coat. "Be a pity to take a trip in this weather and not see inside."

Tetheus nodded. "It's cold out," he said, bruesquely.

"Well," said Shydeman, gesturing to the walls around him, "this is the hall."

This was also where the changes crept in. The colour of the walls was the same, but the panel for the alarm was new and garish - he hadn't noticed the box outside. The layout struck the right chords though. The stairs leading to the first floor was exactly where it needed to be and the door immediately to his right would obviously lead into the evening room and a bit of comfort as the night drew in. Shydeman pushed on the door and led Tetheus inside.

"We've turned this room into an office," he said, kicking some magazines behind the desk and exposing a stain on the carpet. Tetheus frowned. The room was too small. "We were planning to knock the door down and expand into the room behind, but we haven't gotten around to it yet."

He led Tetheus back out and down the hall into the reading room. "There's a lot of space here that we don't use - it's a library of sorts. We don't have that many books, so we mostly store DVDs and CDs here. They don't take up much room."

Tetheus nodded. "The front room would make a good place to relax in the evening, with the sun coming in the window. If you stole enough space from here," he said, marking out the area needed to restore the dimensions of the room from his childhood.

"That's exactly it," replied Shydeman, eyeing him curiously.

Tetheus smiled, imagining a huge, stupid picture of a goat over the fire-place - a bad idea in a room with so much paper. "This house... it's just like the house I used to live in when I was a child, before my parents died."

Shydeman twitched. "That's strange. My sister and I found this place a few years ago and that's sort of the reason we bought it. The outside is going to look the same, but we're putting our own stamp on the inside. It's not a shrine to our parents."

Tetheus opened his mouth, but the words stalled. A door from what could have been the kitchen opened and the other twin stormed in.

"This gentleman is thinking about buying the house," Shydeman said to her.

She glared at him. "Why do we have to sell up?"

"We can't afford to rent a new home and pay the mortgage on this one," he said reasonably, throwing a smile at Tetheus.

"You know what I mean," she said, plopping into one of the comfortable chairs. "Why do we have to leave at all?"

Shydeman sighed and shook his head. "We're filming in a different country. There's no way that we can do the work here."

"I hate Nadil," Shyrendora spat. "He says 'Jump', we say 'How high?' He snaps his little fingers and the pantomime's over and we have to work on some stupid show."

"He's our boss," sighed Shydeman. "We signed our lives away."

"I like pantomime!" she wailed, before twisting her body over and cackling "I'll get you my pretty - and your little dog too."

Shydeman laughed and grabbed her in a rough hug.

"Why can't we leave," she whispered. "Why can't we get work with another company or do more pantomimes for the kiddies?"

Tetheus coughed. "If you need work," he said, "I know a few commercials that are casting twins soon."

"We're not twins," said Shydeman.

"It was one of Nadil's gimmicks," sneered his sister. "That and the type-casting are two of the reasons why I love him so much."

"You're the older one?" Tetheus asked Shydeman, who nodded. "Then could you be...?" He stopped and frowned. "But your hair..."

Shydeman squeezed his sister and let her go. He walked over to the mantlepiece and brought a framed photograph from it over to his guest. Tetheus trembled when he saw who was in the picture. "Our mother was an actress. When we started in the business, we thought that we'd cash in by dying our hair her colour."

"It helped that I found her stash of dye when I was ten. I can't remember exactly what our natural colour looks like, but it was dark, like yours," said Shyrendora, getting to her feet. "Cup of tea?" she asked, giving Shydeman a quick hug and heading for the kitchen.

"There's not a contract written that can't be wiggled out of," said Tetheus, stopping her in her tracks. "Do you really want to leave Nadil?" They both stared at him, the potential sale completely forgotten. "I know one of the best contract lawyers in the business and I can have him working on this by the end of the day."

"It can't be possible," stated Shydeman, flatly.

"There are three strands of attack," replied Tetheus, ticking them off his fingers. "Firstly, you examine the contract to see if it has any opt-out clauses or if it breaks any employment laws. Then you can negotiate with your employer." Shydeman looked dubious. "If all else fails, then you resort to breaking and entering. If your boss can't put his hands on the contract, then he can't sue you for its breach." Tetheus laughed. "I'm sure that Nadil's improved security on his safe since Ruwalk's day, but I can afford to hire a professional."

"Why would you help us?" whispered Shyrendora.

"Do you... do you have an older brother?" he pleaded, his voice breaking. The blood drained from Shydeman and Shyrendora began to cry. "I lost touch with my siblings when they were still young and I've been looking for them ever since." He looked at Shrendora, trying to square the stunning beauty before him with the snot-nosed brat of his childhood. "The first time my sister went to a pantomime she was so frightened of the villian that she cried for hours and my mother refused to take her the following year." He then looked at Shydeman. "In school my brother was having trouble with maths, so I offered to help. After two weeks of tutoring, he ended up with worse grades than before and we both got punished."

"Tetheus?" whispered Shyrendora. He smiled and nodded.

"That's impossible!" said Shydeman, looking at the sensible suit, serious hair-cut and thick-soled runners. "My brother was the most disorganised person imaginable. He didn't know if he was coming or going. Without me, he wouldn't make it to work, never mind on time." His arms flailed as he continued to denigrate his older brother. "You can't be that messy, dishevelled, thoughtless slacker!"

"When my phone broke, I worked on it," he said, slyly. "The will to change is a transformative beast. Please forgive me for my stupidity."

"On three conditions," stated Shydeman, as his sister raced into his brother's arms. "One, you break our contracts. Two, you buy me a pony and three, you move into the spare room. We've too much catching up to do."

"Agreed!" shouted Tetheus, shaking his hand to seal the deal, before pulling him into a bear-hug. "Agreed!"

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_Dragon Knights Sentai _is fanfiction based on the works of Mineko Okhami.

Thanks for reading. I couldn't leave poor Tetheus without clearing up his loose ends. All feedback is appreciated, so please click on the review button. If you spot any typos, speak up.

The story's over, go home.


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